SKETCHES 


THE    LIFE     AND    TRAVELS 


REV.    THOMAS   WARE, 
-    ..      H 

WHO    HAS    BEEN 

AN   ITINERANT  METHODIST  PREACHER    FOR   MORE   THAN 
FIFTY   YEAR8. 


WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 


REVISED     BY    THE     EDITORS 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  G.  LANE  &  P.  P.  SANDFORD, 

FOR  THE   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  AT  THK  CONFERENCE  OFFICE, 
200  MULBERRY-STREET. 


J.  Coltord,  Printer. 
1842. 


"  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1 839, 
by  T.  Mason  and  G.  Lane,  in  the  Clerk's- Office  of  the  Dis- 
trict Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York." 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS  WARE. 


THE  Rev.  Thomas  Ware  is  one  of  the  old- 
est Methodist  travelling  preachers  in  the  United 
States.  He  commenced  his  labours  in  early 
life,  and  is  now  more  than  eighty  years  of 
age.  His  connection  with  the  work  during 
the  first  stages  of  its  progress,  in  this  coun- 
try, furnished  him  with  an  opportunity  to  col- 
lect many  facts  and  anecdotes,  calculated  to 
illustrate  the  principles  and  spirit  of  Method- 
ism in  its  primitive  form.  Nothing  so  happily 
illustrates  the  spirit  and  intrinsic  character  of 
a  system  of  operations,  in  religion  or  other 
social  interests,  as  a  detailed  account  of  the 
feelings,  dispositions,  and  conduct  of  its  de- 
voted friends  and  advocates.  If  we  would 
have  a  correct  understanding  of  primitive 
Christianity,  we  should  make  ourselves  fami- 
liar with  the  influences  which  everywhere, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  affected  the  first 
and  most  eminent  Christians.  So,  also,  if  we 


4  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

would  have  a  correct  knowledge  of  true  primi- 
tive Methodism,  the  surest  way  to  attain  it  is  to 
become  familiarly  acquainted  with  the  lives  and 
conduct  of  its  first  and  most  eminent  votaries. 
That  influence  under  which  an  individual  is 
led  to  persevere  in  a  life  of  self  denial  and 
much  labour  for  half  a  century  or  more,  with- 
out turning  aside  at  any  time,  must  be  pre- 
sumed to  constitute,  in  a  very  eminent  degree, 
the  principal  element  of  his  faith  and  practice. 
Hence  are  the  biographies  of  the  early  Me- 
thodist preachers  profitable  to  those  who 
would  imbibe  their  spirit  and  imitate  their  vir- 
tues— those  who  would  be  primitive  Method- 
ists— as  well  as  interesting  to  all. 

Although  we  could  wish  our  much  respected 
father  in  the  gospel,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ware, 
had  preserved  a  great  deal  more  of  what 
passed  under  his  observation  during  the  early 
part  of  his  ministry,  we  cannot  but  believe 
that  many  will  be  thankful  for  what  he  has 
furnished  in  the  following  pages.  They  con- 
tain many  things  calculated  to  impart  instruc- 
tion as  well  as  edification ;  and  through  them 
this  venerable  man  of  God  will  speak  to  thou- 
sands after  he  is  dead. 

We  deem  it  proper  to  say,  in  conclusion, 
that  as  it  appeared  desirable  in  publishing  the 
work  to  preserve  the  auto-biographical  form 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  5 

in  which  it  was  furnished,  although  very  con- 
siderable corrections  were  necessary  to  pre- 
pare it  for  the  press,  we  have  been  at  the 
pains  of  having  the  whole  read  to  the  author 
since  it  was  corrected,  so  that  it  is  published 
from  the  manuscript  approved  by  him,  with- 
out alteration.  This  was  deemed  necessary, 
as  it  contains  historical  facts  and  allusions 
which  may  in  some  future  day  be  consulted 
for  purposes  of  interest  to  the  Church,  when 
all  will  desire  to  be  satisfied  that  the  record  is 
in  his  own  words*.  We  trust  this  little  volume 
will  be  perused  with  much  satisfaction  by 
many,  and  be  rendered  a  blessing  to  them. 

PUBLISHERS. 


PREFACE 

TO 

MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS  WARE. 


THE  writer  of  the  following  sketches  has 
neither  capacity  nor  disposition  to  employ 
his  pen  merely  for  tlje  purpose  of  amusing  his 
fellow  men.  But  having  bSen  called,  in  the 
order  of  Providence,  to  act  a  part  upon  the 
stage  of  life  at  a  period  when  every  thing 
connected  with  the  history  of  this  great  nation 
was  stamped  with  interest,  he  may,  without 
ostentation,  perform  the  humble  task  of  record- 
ing some  things  which  passed  under  his  ob- 
servation, and  thus  preserving  from  oblivion 
incidents  connected  with  those  days,  which 
might  otherwise  be  lost. 

In  surveying  the  past,  he  has  reason  to 
regret  that  he  has  kept  a  record  of  so  small  a 
proportion  of  what  might  have  been  useful  and 
interesting  to  posterity.  But  a  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  making  a  register  of  every 
thing  worth  preserving,  at  the  time,  came  too 
late.  In  regard  to  this,  the  writer  has  been 
guilty  of  a  fault  too  common  with  the  soldiers 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  7 

of  the  revolution,  and  the  first  Methodist 
preachers  in  this  country. 

Still  there  were  many  things  connected 
with  his  early  experience,  which,  from  their 
peculiar  nature,  or  the  circumstances  under 
which  they  occurred,  made  an  impression  upon 
his  mind  never  to  be  erased.  This  induced 
him  to  note  them  down  at  the  time  of  their 
occurrence.  From  the  scraps  containing  such 
notices,  the  following  sketches  are  principally 
made  out. 

As  it  is  the  object  of  the  following  narrative 
to  instruct,  rather  than  amuse — to  give  correct 
information  relative  to  the  facts  alluded  to  in 
it,  rather  than  dazzle  the  imagination  of  the 
reader  with  an  exhibition  of  marvellous  events, 
the  writer  claims,  as  the  chief  merit  of  his 
production,  strict  fidelity  to  truth.  He  has 
recorded  only  what  he  has  seen,  and  heard, 
and  experienced. 

If  the  work  possess  no  other  interest,  it  is 
believed  that  the  circumstance  of  the  writer's 
connection  with  the  early  Methodist  preach- 
ers, and  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the 
Church  since  its  organization,  will  give  it  a 
degree  of  value  in  the  estimation  of  many. 
The  humble  individual,  who  furnishes  these 
brief  sketches  for  the  perusal  of  posterity, 
was  a  companion  in  labour  and  suffering  with 


8  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE 

the  Methodist  preachers  of  1784.  He  was 
present  at  the  Christmas  Conference  in  that 
year,  when  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  was  organized.  He  has 
lived,  however,  to  witness  great  changes.  His 
"  old  companions  dear"  are  all  gone.  He  lives 
as  in  a  new  world;  yet  not  new,  because, 
though  other  men  inhabit  it,  they  are  engaged 
in  the  same  cause.  Methodism,  in  its  radical 
principles  and  prominent  features,  is  the  same 
as  when  the  writer  first  entered  the  field. 
That  it  may  continue  so  to  the  end  of  time, 
and  equal  the  highest  expectations  of  its  early 
friends  and  advocates,  as  an  instrument  of 
spreading  evangelical  holiness  through  these 
lands,  is  the  sincere  prayer  of 

T.  W. 
Salem,  N.  J.,  March  28,  1839. 


MEMOIR 


REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Mr.  Ware's  account  of  his  ancestors — His  birth — Early  reli- 
gious training — Doctrinal  views  of  his  parents — Death  of  his 
father — Distress  and  gloom  of  his  mother — Partakes  of  her 
spirit  of  despondency — Troubled  with  the  subject  of  doctrines — 
Methodists  begin  to  be  talked  of  in  that  country — The  minister 
of  the  parish  induced,  in  consequence,  to  dwell  largely  on  the 
doctrine  of  decrees — Attends  school — Contracts  a  friendship  for 
an  eccentric  schoolmate,  and  endeavours  to  shake  off  his  seri- 
ousness— His  friend  endeavors  to  reason  him  out  of  his  Cal- 
vinistic  views,  but  to  no  purpose — Becomes  less  serious,  and 
more  fond  of  play — Anecdote  of  a  preacher  who  revived  the 
agitation  about  Methodists,  by  representing  them  as  driven  from 
England  by  their  antagonists,  and  therefore  flocking  to  Ameri- 
ca— Arminianism,  not  understood  by  those  who  were  led  to  hold 
it  a  dreadful  heresy — Doctrinal  disputes  among  the  people- 
Students  who  played  at  cards,  and  excused  themselves  when 
rebuked,  by  taking  shelter  under  the  doctrine  of  decrees — 
School  broken  up  in  consequence  of  the  schoolhouse  being 
burned — Mr.  Ware  returns  to  his  mother,  and  aids  her  on  her 
little  farm — Greatly  harassed  again  on  the  subject  of  doctrines. 

MY  paternal  grandfather  was  an  English- 
man by  birth,  and  a  captain  in  the  British 
service  under  Queen  Anne.  I  remember 
him  well,  as  he  lived  until  I  was  sixteen 
years  old.  His  personal  appearance  was 
i* 


10  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

fine,  and  his  mind  cheerful.  The  caresses, 
anecdotes,  and  lessons  of  instruction,  re- 
ceived from  him,  are  among-  my  earliest 
recollections.  He  had  high  notions  of  liberty, 
and  was  the  first  man  I  ever  heard  eulo- 
gize the  Indian  character.  Most  people 
seemed  to  think  the  Indians  ought  to  be 
exterminated. 

When  this  venerable  old  man  came  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  us,  we  were  always 
delighted,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  our 
efforts  to  please  him.  His  company  was 
interesting  on  account  of  the  cheerfulness 
of  his  spirits,  and  the  stories  with  which  he 
was  always  ready  to  entertain  us.  He  was 
in  the  habit,  too,  of  advising  my  father  with 
respect  to  the  education  of  his  children. — 
On  this  subject  he  used  to  say,  the  mind 
must  be  made  strong  as  well  as  the  body. 
Though  minds  differed — some  being  natu 
rally  stronger  and  others  weaker — yet  much 
depended  upon  management  in  their  educa- 
tion. And  in  view  of  this,  a  beginning  could 
not  too  soon  be  made  to  guard  children 
against  the  fears  which  vulgar  stories  about 
ghosts,  &c.,  were  calculated  to  produce,  and 
to  store  their  minds  with  correct  ideas.  My 
grandfather  lived  to  the  great  age  of  more 
than  fivescore  years.  To  his  uniformly  cheer- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  1  I 

fill  temperament,  as  a  means  under  God,  I 
have  always  attributed  his  long  life. 

My  maternal  grandfather,  whose  name  was 
Reed,  I  never  saw.  He  was  a  native  of  Scot- 
land. On  his  passage  from  that  country,  he 
was  wrecked  off  the  capes  of  Delaware,  and 
lost  all  but  his  life.  He  reached  the  shore  by 
clinging  to  some  fragments  of  the  broken  ship, 
and  was  found  nearly  exhausted  on  the  beach 
by  a  farmer,  named  Garrettson,  who  took  him 
to  his  house.  With  this  person,  who  rescued 
him  from  his  perilous  condition,  he  was  con- 
tented to  remain.  He  afterward  married  a 
daughter  of  his  benefactor.  He  died  at  mid- 
dle age,  leaving  a  large  landed  estate,  and  a 
numerous  offspring. 

My  grandmother  Reed  I  knew  well.  She 
possessed  fine  powers  of  mind,  and  a  happy 
faculty  of  communicating  her  thoughts.  Al- 
though not  very  conversant  with  books,  she 
knew  much  of  the  history  of  the  world,  and 
her  conversation  was  always  rendered  inte- 
resting by  her  numerous  anecdotes  about 
former  days,  when  the  country  was  infested 
with  beasts  of  prey  and  savage  men.  The 
young  people  were  delighted  with  her  society, 
and  profited  too,  as  sl\e  was  accustomed,  in 
entertaining  them  with  her  conversation,  to 
draw  many  of  her  anecdotes  from  the  Scrip- 


12  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

tures,  which  she  would  tell  in  a  soft  and  pious 
strain,  that  made  an  impression  on  my  mind 
lasting  as  life.  She  was  one  of  the  few  whose 
condition  may  be  said  to  be  enviable  in  old 
age.  With  intelligence  and  cheerfulness 
beaming  in  her  countenance,  and  the  law  of 
kindness  dwelling  on  her  tongue,  her  last 
days  were  among  her  most  happy  days.  Who 
that  have  had  the  pleasure  of  being  conversant 
with  such  a  person  in  the  decline  of  life,  have 
not  felt  a  wish  mingling  with  secret  aspirations 
of  the  heart  to  God  that  they  might  live  to  be 
old,  and  their  last  days  be  equally  tranquil  and 
happy? 

My  father  and  mother  were  pious  persons, 
and  lived,  while  they  were  permitted  to  live 
together,  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  But  my 
father  died  in  the  prime  of  life — I  think  at 
about  thirty-eight  years  of  age.  My  grand- 
father Ware  used  to  say  that  he  was  the 
kindest  of  all  his  sons.  He  was  the  only  one 
of  them  who  professed  to  know  that  God  for 
Christ's  sake  had  forgiven  his  sins.  His  mind 
was  improved  by  considerable  reading.  Mil- 
ton was  his  favourite  poet ;  and  persons  of 
good  taste  were  always  delighted  to  hear 
Paradise  Lost  read  by  him.  He  loved  his 
family  much ;  and  in  the  estimation  of  those 
who  knew  him  best,  he  was  considered  one  of 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  13 

the  most  excellent  men.  These  amiable  pa- 
rents taught  me  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  by  both 
precept  and  example.  The  whole  deportment 
of  my  father  tended  to  fix  in  me  a  habit  of 
serious  reflection  on  the  subject  of  religion; 
and  his  triumphant  death  made  an  impression 
on  my  mind  that  time  could  not  obliterate. 
He  left  my  mother  a  widow  with  eight  chil- 
dren, the  eldest  only  seventeen  years. 

Respecting  the  date  of  my  birth  there  is  no 
authentic  record,  a  part  of  the  family  register 
having  been  by  accident  so  effaced  as  to  ren- 
der it  illegible.  For  the  only  knowledge  I 
have  of  it,  therefore,  I  am  indebted  to  the 
memory  of  my  excellent  mother,  from  whom  I 
learned  that  it  was  the  19th  of  December,  1758. 

Though  my  father  and  mother  were  both 
pious,  they  did  not  agree  in  their  views  of 
doctrine.  My  mother  was  a  firm  believer  in. 
the  Presbyterian  faith ;  but  my  father  was  not, 
and  refused  to  join  the  church  unless  he  could 
be  permitted  to  think  for  himself  on  the  subject 
of  divine  decrees.  He  believed,  as  my  mother 
often  told  me,  in  the  universality  of  the  atone- 
ment; but,  in  compliance  with  her  wishes, 
suffered  me  to  learn  the  Larger  and  Shorter 
Catechisms.  Alas!  how  many  children  are 
injured,  and  go  halting  all  their  days,  for  want 
of  skilful  nursing. 


14  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

It  had  been  usual  for  my  mother,  in  my 
father's  absence,  to  pray  with  her  children 
morning  and  evening.  But  after  his  death 
she  was  tempted  to  abandon  it.  The  scene 
was  deeply  afflicting.  She  collected  her  chil- 
dren, as  usual,  around  her.  While  thus 
seated,  eight  in  number,  and  the  eldest  only 
in  her  seventeenth  year,  she  attempted  to  read, 
but  could  not.  She  sat  and  wept.  My  eldest 
sister  at  last  said,  "  My  dear  mother,  why  do 
you  weep?"  "Alas!"  replied  she,  "death 
has  made  you  all  orphans,  and  your  mother  a 
disconsolate  widow.  I  am  not  worthy  to  fill 
the  place  of  your  excellent  father.  Had  I 
been  so,  and  you  been  dutiful  children,  we 
should  not  have  been  left  in  this  forlorn  con- 
dition. Go,  my  children,  and  pray  for  your- 
selves. These  little  ones,  (meaning  the 
younger  four  of  the  number.)  I  will  take  with 
me  into  my  closet."  On  hearing  these  remarks 
from  my  bereaved  and  much  afflicted  mother, 
I  arose  quickly,  went  out  into  the  field,  and 
wept  bitterly.  I  said  to  myself,  It  is  doubtless 
as  my  mother  has  said  ;  at  least  we  have  been 
naughty  children. 

No  wonder  that  a  providence  so  mysterious 
as  the  removal  of  my  father  in  the  prime  of 
life,  should  deeply  affect  my  poor  afflicted 
mother.  The  gloom  which  hung  over  her 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  15 

mind,  occasioned  by  his  death  and  her  being 
left  with  eight  young  children,  who  were  des- 
tined no  more  to  see  the  smiling  face  or  hear 
the  charming  voice  of  so  kind  and  affectionate 
a  father,  was  heightened  by  the  doubts  she 
often  indulged  about  her  own  election,  or  gra- 
cious state,  as  she  would  express  it.  She  was 
harassed  with  fears,  that  what  she  had  fondly 
taken  for  saving  grace,  was  nothing  more 
than  common  grace. 

About  this  time,  a  neighbour  who  had  long 
been  a  communicant  in  the  church  had  fallen 
into  doubts  respecting  his  election,  and  in  his 
despondency  had  taken  his  own  life.  This 
man,  she  now  concluded,  had  never  been 
operated  upon  by  any  thing  more  than  com- 
mon grace.  And  it  occasioned  her  much 
painful  exercise  and  sore  conflict  of  mind. 

Listening  to  those  who  came  to  console  my 
mother  under  the  pressure  of  her  grief  and  the 
doubts  which  were  preying  upon  her  feelings, 
a  spirit  of  melancholy  seized  me,  and  I  became 
subject  to  desponding  fears.  In  this  state  I 
wandered  in  lowly  places;  and  having  heard 
that  departed  spirits  did  sometimes  return  as 
messengers  of  good  to  those  they  loved  on 
earth,  I  often  invoked  my  father's  appearance, 
n  oping  that  for  the  love  he  bore  to  us  while 
he  was  with  us,  ho  would  return  and  tell  me 


16  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

if  my  mother's  name  and  my  own  were  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  life. 

From  this,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
gloom  cast  over  the  morning  of  my  days  in 
consequence  of  my  early  instruction  in  the 
principles  of  the  Calvinistic  faith.  There  are 
some  minds  which  cannot  digest  the  doctrine 
of  decrees  as  set  forth  in  the  system  of 
Calvinism.  And  such  was  mine. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  younger  two  of 
our  family  were  taken  away  by  death.  As 
they  died  in  infancy,  there  were  no  just 
grounds  to  doubt  of  their  being  happy.  But 
to  a  mind  exercised  as  mine  then  was,  there 
was  no  satisfactory  assurance  of  it ;  for,  ac- 
cording to  our  creed,  the  condition  of  infancy 
could  not  be  considered  as  a  security  against 
being  finally  lost.  There  were  three,  one  bro- 
ther and  two  sisters,  older  than  myself;  and 
none  of  these  appeared  to  give  themselves  any 
uneasiness  about  our  little  Lydia  and  Enoch, 
whom  we  had  followed  to  the  grave,  not  doubt- 
ing that  they  were  with  their  father  in  hea- 
ven. Why  it  was  that  I  alone  should  infer, 
from  our  common  creed,  that  they  were  more 
likely  to  be  in  hell  than  in  heaven,  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  conceive,  unless  Providence  designed 
that  I  should  be  the  means  of  bringing  our 
family  to  embrace  the  doctrinal  views  ot  my 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  17 

father,  rather  than  those  of  my  mother,  who 
herself  died  in  principle  a  Methodist.  In  the 
distinguishingfeatures  of  my  father's  faith  I  was 
never  instructed  until  I  became  a  Methodist, 
and  my  mother's  prejudices  had  somewhat 
subsided.  She  then  told  me  that  my  father 
was  a  Methodist  in  his  views,  and,  she  doubt- 
ed not,  would  have  joined  them,  if  he  had  lived 
to  hear  them. 

When  the  Methodists  began  to  be  talked  of 
in  our  section  of  the  country,  our  ministei, 
fearing  lest  their  principles  should  be  intro- 
duced and  infect  the  minds  of  his  people,  was 
led  to  dwell  largely  on  the  doctrine  of  divine 
decrees,  which,  being  opposed  by  some,  occa- 
sioned much  controversy  among  all  classes. 

At  this  time  I  was  attending  school.  Among 
my  school-mates  was  one,  named  Constan- 
tine,  some  years  older  than  myself,  for  whom, 
notwithstanding  some  peculiarities  of  charac- 
ter which  rendered  him  offensive  to  others,  I 
contracted  a  strong  attachment.  He  was 
ordinary  in  his  person,  and  possessed  great 
muscular  strength.  His  genius  was  of  the 
highest  order, — especially  in  the  study  of  the 
mathematics.  By  competent  judges  he  was 
considered  to  possess  a  maturity  of  thought 
far  above  his  years.  His  fellow-students 
hated  him  ;  but  it  was  probably  because  they 


18  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE, 

dreaded  his  wit  and  satire.  They  were  cau- 
tious not  to  go  too  far,  lest  bruin,  as  they 
called  him,  would  give  them  a  deadly  hug. 
By  some,  too,  he  was  deemed  as  a  prodigy  of 
wickedness,  because  he  did  not  believe  in 
the  decrees  of  God,  as  set  forth  in  our  Cate- 
chism and  Confession  of  Faith.  He  had,  what 
some  thought,  the  audacity  to  say,  that  the 
time  spent  in  learning  them  was  worse  than 
lost.  This  extraordinary  young  man,  who 
was,  in  fact,  a  good-natured  and  fast  friend, 
laboured  hard  to  persuade  me  out  of  my  Cal- 
vinistic  views.  But  he  could  not  succeed. 
Becoming  weary,  however,  with  my  continued 
struggles  of  mind,  and  concluding  that  nothing 
was  to  be  gained  by  self-consuming  care,  I 
made  an  effort  to  dismiss  serious  thoughts 
from  my  mind,  and  soon  became  as  passion- 
ately fond  of  play  as  any  in  the  school. 

The  noise  about  the  Methodists  had  died 
away.  For  a  considerable  time  little  was  said 
of  them,  except  now  and  then  a  silly  tale  or 
groundless  report  was  'put  in  circulation  re- 
specting them.  One  of  these  was,  that  they 
preached  that  there  were  children  in  hell  not 
a  span  long.  This  was  stated  in  a  circle  of 
persons,  all  of  whom,  except  one,  were  pre- 
destinarians.  An  individual  remarked  that  it 
might  be  true;  "but  there  are,"  said  he,  "two 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  19 

kinds  of  Methodists  ;  the  followers  of  Wesley, 
and  those  of  Whitefield.  The  latter  are  pre- 
destinarians,  and  some  of  them  do  probably 
preach  such  doctrines ;  but  it  ill  becomes  us, 
who  are  predestinarians,  to  circulate  this  tale." 

Soon  after,  a  preacher  of  this  class — one 
of  the  most  rigid  predestinarians  of  that  age — 
came  into  the  place,  and  revived  the  clamour 
against  the  Methodists.  The  story  which  was 
put  in  circulation  was,  that  the  two  Mr.  Hills, 
Richard  and  Rowland,  had  written  them  down 
in  England,  and  that  they  were  flocking  to  Ame- 
rica ;  and  a  clergyman  of  an  adjoining  parish, 
apprehending,  as  it  seemed,  that  there  was  no 
time  to  be  lost,  commenced  a  course  of  ser- 
mons on  the  decrees  of  God,  in  which  he 
extended  their  application  to  the  falling  of 
every  leaf  in  autumn.  He  told  the  people 
that  England  was  overrun  with  a  set  of  wild 
fanatical  heretics,  who  had  revived  the  errors 
of  James  Arminius,  and  would,  it  was  feared, 
inundate  America  with  their  damnable  Armi- 
nian,  Pelagian,  and  popish  heresies.  Many, 
however,  were  not  very  well  pleased  with  the 
old  gentleman's  strong  doctrine  and  harsh 
invectives. 

As  to  Arminiani.sm,  they  knew  not  what  it 
meant,  but  thought  it  must  be  something  very 
bad.  Some,  however,  took  the  liberty  to  draw 


20  MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

their  own  conclusions  from  what  the  parson 
preached,  and  argued  that  if  it  were  true,  no 
one  could  consistently  be  blamed  for  any  thing 
he  thought,  said,  or  did.  During  this  agita- 
tion, a  son  of  Col.  S.,  one  of  the  minister's 
principal  parishioners,  returned  from  college, 
with  two  of  his  fellow-students,  to  spend  a 
short  time  at  home.  He  and  his  companions 
were  studying  for  the  law.  They  attended 
church  for  two  successive  Sabbaths,  and 
listened  to  the  discourses  of  the  preacher  on 
divine  decrees.  On  the  following  Sabbath, 
however,  instead  of  attending  service,  while 
the  parson  was  pursuing  his  subject  in  the 
church,  they  were  playing  at  cards  in  a  plea- 
sant shade  near  it,  without  any  apparent  con- 
cern about  being  concealed  from  public  view. 
Of  this  daring  impiety  the  pastor  was  readily 
informed ;  and  on  the  following  day,  in  com- 
pany with  two  of  his  elders,  he  waited  on  Col. 
S.,  whose  son  had  evidently  taken  the  lead  in 
this  open  contempt  of  the  day,  the  ordinances, 
and  the  minister  of  God.  The  clergyman 
opened  the  subject  to  the  father ;  and  the  son 
was  called  in  to  answer  for  himself.  The 
youth  frankly  confessed  what  he  had  done ; 
and  on  being  sharply  rebuked  for  an  offence  so 
enormous  and  shocking  to  the  moral  sense  of  all 
good  people,  he  boldly  took  refuge  under  the 


MEMOIR    OF  REV.   THOMAS    WARE.  21 

doctrine  taught  him  from  the  pulpit.  "  If  your 
reverence  please,"  said  he,  "  the  Lord  made 
me  to  do  this  bad  deed ;  and  I  hope  you  will 
excuse,  or  at  least  pity  me — seeing  it  was 
from  all  eternity  decreed;"  and  then  drew 
from  his  pocket,  and  handed  to  the  preacher, 
an  abstract  which  he  had  taken  of  one  of  his 
sermons,  in  which  it  was  affirmed  that  the 
decrees  of  God  extended  to  all  the  actions  of 
men.  With  this  repartee  the  colonel  saw  that 
the  parson  was  evidently  embarrassed;  nor 
could  he  relieve  him  other  than  by  an  exer- 
cise of  his  parental  authority  in  reproving  his 
son  for  being  guilty  of  so  wicked  an  act  as 
playing  at  cards  on  the  Sabbath,  and  obtain- 
ing from  him  a  promise  that  he  would  not  be 
guilty  of  the  like  again.  But  the  son  gave 
point  to  the  whole,  by  begging  of  his  father, 
in  the  most  respectful  manner,  that  he  would 
forbear  urging  his  demand  with  too  much  de- 
cision, lest  he  should  be  guilty  of  greater  im- 
piety, not  knowing  how  the  decrees  of  God 
might  run. 

This  circumstance  was  a  subject  of  much 
conversation  in  our  neighbourhood.  By  some 
the  young  student  was  highly  commended ; 
and  by  others  severely  censured.  Had  those 
who  applauded  the  boldness  and  intre- 
pidity of  the  youth,  laid  the  blame  at  the  mi- 


22  MEMOIR  OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

Ulster's  door,  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  and, 
in  renouncing  the  doctrine  he  had  taught, 
sought  for  the  truth,  it  might  have  been  a  be- 
neficial occurrence  -to  them  ;  but  being  led  to 
suppose  that  what  the  minister  taught,  false 
and  absurd  as  it  appeared  to  them,  was  the 
doctrine  of  the  Bible,  because  it  was  preached 
from  the  pulpit,  some  were  led  to  think  and 
speak  lightly  of  that  holy  book.* 

The  school-house  in  which  I  attended 
school  when  I  contracted  an  acquaintance 
with  the  eccentric  Constantine,  wThom  I  have 
mentioned,  having  been  burned  down,  and  the 
school  thereby  broken  up,  I  was  deprived  of 
the  means  of  regular  instruction — there  being 
no  other  one  within  my  reach.  My  time  was 
now  employed  in  aiding  my  mother  to  culti- 
vate her  small  farm ;  and,  by  the  assistance 
she  gave  me,  I  improved  some  in  reading.  A 
code  of  laws  drawn  up  by  our  excellent 
teacher,  for  the  government  of  his  pupils,  and 
copied  by  my  friend  Constantine,  I  had  care- 
fully preserved ;  and  also  a  fragment  of  my 
father's  journal,  when  a  school-boy.  These 

*  After  a  lapse  of  many  years  from  this  occurrence,  I  travel- 
led the  district  embracing  the  place  where  it  transpired,  and 
inquired  of  an  intelligent  gentleman  who  belonged  to  the  same 
church  at  the  time,  whether  he  recollected  it.  He  replied  that 
he  did  very  well,  and  that  the  preacher  immediately  changed  his 
course,  and  undid  what  he  had  done  before. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  23 

vere  calculated  to  carry  my  mind  back,  and 
cause  me  to  think  of  events  that  were  past 
Some  of  my  first  attempts  at  journalizing  had 
also  been  preserved.  As  portrayed  in  these, 
I  have  often  looked  at  myself  with  much  inte- 
rest, and  viewed  myself  as  ayoungimmortal,  left 
as  it  were  alone,  in  search  of  intellectual  food, 
or  doomed  to  go  without.  The  lower  ani- 
mals are  instinctively  directed  to  what  is  good 
for  them,  and  select  the  nutritious  from  among 
the  poisonous.  Man  has  no  such  instinctive 
faculty  to  obtain  what  is  needful  for  the  mind. 
On  the  contrary,  he  too  often  shows  the 
keenest  relish  for  the  deadly  poison.  I  had 
indeed  a  pious  mother ;  but  her  education  was 
too  defective  in  this  respect,  essentially  to 
benefit  me.  Her  thirst  for  Christian  know- 
ledge led  her  to  read  much ;  and  she  could 
read  well.  Her  precepts  and  example  were 
also  highly  instructive  and  beneficial ;  yet  her 
occasionally  pleading  for  the  necessity  of  conti- 
nuing in  sin  until  death,  and  the  like,  by  no 
means  contributed  to  satisfy  my  inquiring 
mind.  As  she  was  deeply  afflicted,  however, 
and  needed  all  the  aid  I  could  give  her  toward 
supporting  the  family,  a  sense  of  duty  induced 
me  to  remain  for  a  time  with  her. 


24  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Ware  leaves  nis  mother,  and  goes  to  live  with  an  uncle — 
His  uncle  an  irreligious  and  trifling  man — Was  brought  to  hear 
skeptical  conversation  among  those  who  frequented  his  uncle's 
house — Was  caressed  by  them,  and  much  injured — The  war 
breaks  out — His  feelings  in  favour  of  the  revolution — He  becomes 
ardent  in  the  cause  of  freedom  by  reading — His  uncle  takes  op- 
posite sides — He  leaves  his  uncle,  and  volunteers  in  the  service 
— Reflects  upon  his  course — Is  carelessly  exposed  with  the  rest 
of  the  regiment  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  threatened  with  punish- 
ment for  his  remarks  on  the  occasion — Volunteers  to  reinforce 
General  Washington  on  Long  Island ;  but  is  prevented  by  the 
enemy,  and  falls  sick  at  Powle's  Hook. 

IN  my  sixteenth  year,  my  mother  thinking 
she  could  spare  me,  I  left  my  native  town, 
and  went  to  live  with  an  uncle  in  Salem, 
N.  J.,  about  twenty  miles  distant.  This  uncle 
was  an  ingenious  mechanic ;  and  deemed,  in 
the  circle  in  which  he  moved,  a  ready  wit. — 
But  he  was  lax  in  his  moral  and  religious  prin- 
ciples. He  was  in  the  habit  of  indulging  in 
sarcasms  on  all  occasions  calculated  to  call 
them  forth,  especially  in  reference  to  the  insti- 
tutions and  habits  of  the  people  of  New-Eng- 
land. He  had  made  himself  familiar  with 
their  history,  and  particularly  detested  their 
treatment  of  the  Quakers  ;  probably  the  more, 
because  his  mother  was  of  that  order;  and 
their  blue  laws,  as  they  were  called,  which  he 
appeared  to  understand  well,  were  particularly 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE.  25 

offensive  to  his  feelings,  and  the  subject  of  his 
severest  remarks. 

My  creed,  also,  which  had  so  much  bewil- 
dered my  mind,  but  which  I  now  began  to 
trouble  myself  but  little  about,  was  often  made 
the  subject  of  my  uncle's  biting  ridicule.  Ha- 
bitually listening  to  the  skeptical  conversations 
of  those  who  frequented  his  house,  and  who 
appeared  to  be  the  gayest  and  happiest  peo- 
ple in  the  world,  I  soon  imbibed  their  spirit 
and  sentiments,  and  joined  with  them  in  their 
merriment.  Having  learned  some  of  their 
songs,  and  being  favoured  with  a  good  voice, 
I  was  soon  caressed  by  them,  as  being  able  to 
sing  a  good  song,  and  say  some  smart  things. 

While  I  was  residing  with  my  uncle,  the 
quarrel  between  us  and  the  mother  country 
became  more  threatening,  and  the  alarm  of 
war  waxed  louder  and  louder.  I  was  young 
and  ardent;  and  all  my  feelings  were  on  the 
side  of  America.  I  was  delighted,  therefore, 
to  hear  the  bold  and  unfaltering  voice  of  the 
undaunted  Henry  raised  in  defiance  of  the 
sovereign  who  was  endeavouring  to  crush  us, 
and  of  his  minions  among  us.  Still  more  de- 
lighted was  I  when  I  learned  that,  seeing  we 
must  resort  to  arms  in  defence  of  our  rights, 
the  election  for  a  command er-in-chief  fell  upon 
Washington,  the  youthful  hero  whose  skill  in 


26  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

saving  the  vanquished  army  of  the  ill-fated 
Braddock  was  a  pledge  for  his  success  when 
his  country  should  need  his  services.  Brad- 
dock's  defeat  was  well  understood,  and  much 
talked  of;  and  in  connection  with  it,  the  emi 
nent  skill  displayed  by  young  Washington  in 
rescuing  the  army  from  being  entirely  cut  off 
was  familiar  to  all.  I  knew  a  man  who  had 
been  a  soldier  under  Braddock,  and  had  heard 
him  speak  of  Washington  as  every  way  supe- 
rior, in  person,  demeanour,  courage,  and  skill 
in  war.  In  such  a  cause,  and  under  such  a 
leader,  my  ardent  feelings  inclined  me  to 
desire  to  serve  my  country. 

The  spirit  of  liberty  was  abroad.  A  sense 
of  the  rights  of  man  with  which  the  American 
people  were  imbued,  had  roused  the  people 
from  their  lethargy,  and  produced  some  of  the 
greatest  statesmen  and  heroes  the  world  ever 
saw.  The  invincible  spirit  they  manifested 
had  spread  itself  among  all  classes,  and  agi- 
tated the  whole  civilized  world.  The  general 
feeling  which  prevailed  had  some  redeeming 
influence  on  me,  as  it  directed  my  mind  to  a 
particular  object.  I  had  an  ardent  desire  to 
peruse  the  news  of  the  day,  and  this  led  me 
to  improve  in  my  reading.  If  I  heard  any 
thing  interesting  read  in  the  periodicals  of  the 
day,  I  borrowed  the  paper  and  read  it  over 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  27 

myself,  while  it  was  yet  fresh  in  my  memory, 
which  aided  me  very  much.  The  cause  of 
freedom  was  advocated,  too,  by  the  free  circu- 
lation of  pamphlets,  one  of  which  was  very 
popular,  and  had  much  influence  on  the  minds 
of  the  people  generally.  There  were  doubt- 
less some  who-  did  not  approve  of  it ;  but  they 
were  silent.  In  all  conversations  among  the 
people  you  would  hear  the  measures  of  the 
British  government  toward  this  country  con- 
demned as  arbitrary  beyond  endurance,  and 
that  we  were  justified  in  resisting  them,  and 
throwing  off  the  yoke.  The  pamphlet  which 
so  ably  advocated  these  views,  as  all  agreed, 
I  procured,  and  got  persons  to  read  it  for  me 
who  could  read  well,  and  then  read  it  myself, 
by  which  I  continued  to  improve  in  the  art  of 
reading,  and  became  more  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  revolution.  I  was  at  this  time 
in  the  seventeenth  year  of  my  age. 

An  elderly  man,  having  heard  me  say  that 
I  claimed  to  understand  the  principles  of  the 
revolution,  and  meant  to  be  governed  by  them, 
inquired  what  they  were.  I  replied,  "  Never 
to  invade  the  rights  of  others,  nor  suffer  others 
to  invade  mine,  at  the  risk  of  life.  But  un- 
derstand me,  sir,  I  do  not  mean  as  a  duellist, 
for  no  man  in  his  individual  capacity  has  the 
right  of  life  and  death ;"  and  I  proceeded  to 


28  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

explain  an  invasion  of  rights,  as  consisting  in 
attempts  to  compel  us  to  believe  and  act  con- 
trary to  the  dictates  of  our  rational  convictions. 

When  the  struggle  commenced,  my  uncle 
was  on  the  side  of  America.  But  on  the 
declaration  of  independence,  he  changed  sides. 
Influenced  by  the  views  and  feelings  I  have 
expressed,  I  left  him,  and  volunteered  as  a 
soldier  in  the  service.  In  seventy-six,  I  was 
one  of  the  nine  thousand  quartered  at  Perth 
Amboy. 

After  I  had  enlisted,  one  said  to  me,  "  You 
are  an  adventurous  youth — it  is  a  desperate 
cut — independence  or  the  halter."  All  seemed 
at  first  to  agree  in  dispensing  with  such  arti- 
cles as  were  taxed,  in  a  way,  as  they  thought, 
to  oppress  the  colonies.  But  they  were  not 
equally  united  in  having  recourse  to  arms  in 
defence  of  their  alleged  rights.  The  chief 
difficulty  seemed  to  be,  a  fear  that  we  should 
not  be  able  to  contend  with  a  power  which 
we  had  been  accustomed  to  consider  invinci- 
ble; and  then,  to  those  actively  engaged  in 
the  conflict,  it  would  probably  be  death  instead 
of  independence.  This,  I  doubt  not,  led  many 
to  take  neutral  ground.  But  on  such  ground 
-circumstances  would  not  long  permit  them  to 
remain.  All  who  professed  to  occupy  it  were 
represented  as  disaffected,  and  constantly 


MEMOIR    0»    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  29 

pressed  on  the  subject  until  many  became 
really  so,  and  went  over  to  the  enemy.  Others 
pleaded  conscientious  scruples  against  bear- 
ing arms,  and  were  excused  on  that  account, 
though  their  property  was  laid  under  requisi- 
tion to  support  the  war.  Having  now  abjured 
my  king,  and  taken  up  arms  against  him,  I 
had  time  to  think  and  reason  with  myself  on 
the  part  I  had  taken  in  this  great  national 
conflict ;  and  some  of  rny  reflections  I  can 
never  forget  while  memor^ lasts.  The  cause 
I  held  to  be  just.  On  this  point  I  had  no  mis- 
givings. But  whether  we  should  be  able  to 
sustain  our  ground,  appeared  to  me  a  much 
more  doubtful  question.  There  must  be,  I 
was  sure,  much  hard  fighting,  and  many 
valuable  lives  sacrificed,  to  gain  the  boon  of 
our  independence,  if  we  should  succeed  at 
last.  And  what  will  they  gain,  thought  I, 
who  fall  in  the  struggle  ?  The  thanks  of  their 
country  ?  No ;  they  will  be  forgotten.  But 
then  the  principles  for  which  we  were  con- 
tending, it  appeared  to  me,  were  worth  risking 
life  for.  Our  example  would  be  followed  by 
others,  and  tyranny  and  oppression  would  be 
overthrown  throughout  the  world.  Still  the 
question  recurred,  "  Can  you  meet  the  mar- 
tialled  hosts  of  the  British  nation — yon,  who 
know  little  or  nothing  of  the  arts  of  war,  and 


30  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

whose  officers  know  not  much  more  than 
yourselves — with  any  hope  of  success  ?"  This 
was  an  appalling  view  of  the  subject.  Yet, 
with  the  views  I  entertained  of  the  justness  of 
our  cause  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  I  could  not 
doubt,  and  resolved  for  one  on  liberty  or 
death.  "But  there  is  a  hereafter,"  was  sug- 
gested to  my  mind.  True,  thought  I,  but  I 
will  do  the  best  I  can,  and  trust  in  God.  And 
so  it  was,  that  as  a  soldier  in  the  army  I  was 
more  devout  than  when  at  home ;  and  I 
prayed  until  a  confidence  sprang  up  within 
me,  that  I  should  return  to  my  home  and 
friends  in  safety,  or  not  be  cut  off  without 
time  to  make  my  peace  with  God. 

After  we  had  lain  a  short  time  at  Perth 
Amboy,  to  make  a  show  of  our  strength,  as 
was  supposed,  our  general  reviewed  us  in  full 
view  of  the  enemy.  As  was  expected  by  some, 
they  opened  their  artillery  upon  us.  Had  their 
fire  been  directed  with  skill,  many  must 
have  been  slain.  But  they  shot  over  us. 
Although  none  were  injured,  yet  many  were 
dreadfully  frightened,  and  indignant  at  the 
officers  for  unnecessarily  exposing  their  lives 
to  such  imminent  hazard.  This  was  indeed  a 
useless  exposure  of  life.  To  call  out  nine 
thousand  men  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  and 
before  their  cannon,  with  only  a  narrow  river 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  3  1 

or  sound,  not  exceeding,  I  think,  two  hundred 
yards,  between  them  and  us,  was  an  indiscre- 
tion sufficient  to  alarm  the  soldiers.  Still 
there  was  occasion  enough  to  exercise  us. 
Having  been  a  lieutenant  in  a  juvenile  com- 
pany, and  taken  much  pride  in  studying  the 
tactics  of  the  field,  I  thought  our  officers  blame- 
worthy in  neglecting  to  drill  their  men,  unpre- 
pared as  they  appeared  to  be  for  the  discharge 
of  their  duty.  But  instead  of  this,  they  permitted 
them  to  spend  their  time  in-running  foot-races, 
wrestling,  jumping,  &c.  By  an  inadvertent 
remark  on  this  subject,  I  came  near  getting 
into  a  serious  difficulty.  I  said  our  officers 
undoubtedly  depended  more  upon  our  heels 
than  our  arms,  alluding  to  our  being  indulged 
in  running  and  jumping,  rather  than  trained 
to  duty.  For  this  I  was  reprimanded,  and 
threatened  with  an  arrest. 

After  being  quartered  one  month  at  Perth 
Amboy,  I  volunteered  to  reinforce  Washing- 
ton, on  Long  Island.  We  marched  with  all 
possible  haste  to  Powles'  Hook;  but  before  we 
arrived,  the  British  had  got  command  of  the 
Hudson  River,  and  we  were  prevented  from 
crossing  over  to  Long  Island. 

After  this  forced  march,  the  day  being  very 
sultry,  and  having  no  tent  or  quarters  for  the 
night,  except  a  damp  filthy  hovel,  I  was  seized 


32  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

with  what  was  called  the  camp  fever.  The 
physician  pronounced  it  a  hectic.  Whatever 
it  was,  it  cost  me  several  years  of  the  prime 
of  my  life. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Gloomy  aspect  of  affairs  throughout  the  country — Soldiers 
refuse  to  continue  in  the  service  after  their  terms  expire — 
Many  leave — Mr.  Ware  leaves  with  the  rest,  but  is  unable  to 
proceed  far — Stops  with  a  relative — Finds  him  a  violent  enemy 
to  the  revolution — Learns  that  Washington  is  on  the  retreat — 
Sets  forward  for  West  Jersey — Witnesses  the  distress  of  the 
people  in  flight  before  the  enemy — Is  insulted  and  abused  at  a 
public  house — Suffers  much  in  a  snow-storm — Finds  a  friend, 
with  whom  he  puts  up — Is  delirious  by  reason  of  his  exposure 
and  late  sickness — Leaves  his  hospitable  friends,  with  whom  he 
is  pressed  to  stay,  and  hastens  home. 

DURING  the  autumn  of  1776,  things  wore  a 
very  gloomy  aspect.  The  tempest  of  war  had 
swept  over  the  plains  and  heights  of  New- 
York,  and  then  burst  with  impetuosity  on 
New- Jersey,  my  native  state.  The  conti- 
nental troops  could  not  bear  up  against  the 
veteran  hosts  of  the  British  army,  by  whom 
they  were  outnumbered  more  than  two  to 
one.  The  American  army  had  been  reduced 
much  by  various  conflicts  with  the  enemy : 
but  what  added  to  the  causes  of  discourage- 
ment was,  that  the  soldiers  had  become  disaf- 
fected in  consequence  of  their  extreme  suffer- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  33 

ings,  especially  for  want  of  clothing  :  and  an. 
impression  began  to  obtain  among  them  that 
congress  cared  very  little  about  their  suffer- 
ings, and  that  there  were  too  many  in  the 
national  councils  who  cared  as  little  about  the 
independence  of  the  country  ;  and  as  the  term 
for  which  many  had  enlisted  expired  at  that 
time,  no  persuasion  could  induce  them  to  enrol 
their  names  again,  or  to  postpone  their  return 
to  their  homes. 

While  such  was  the  condition  of  the  army, 
the  enemy  was  advancing  in  triumph,  and  the 
people  flying  in  consternation  before  them. 
There  are  many  now  living  who  have  heard 
their  parents  tell  of  the  scenes  which  then 
transpired — of  whole  families  in  flight — wo- 
men and  children  homeless,  in  winter,  hasten- 
ing to  make  their  escape,  not  knowing  whi- 
ther they  went — men  who  had  accumulated  a 
competency  forsaking  their  farms  and  effects, 
giving  them  all  up  to  be  destroyed,  rather  than 
remain  to  improve  or  protect  them,  with  the 
enemy  at  their  heels — there  are  many,  I  say, 
who  have  undoubtedly  heard  these  scenes 
described ;  but  I  witnessed  them  in  all  their 
horrors. 

Of  all  wars  a  civil  war  is  the  worst ;  and 
the  revolutionary  war  had  much  of  this  cha- 
racter. The  animosity  between  the  friends 
2* 


34  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

of  the  revolution  and  the  British  was  great; 
but  that  between  the  friends  and  the  enemies 
of  the  revolution — the  whigs  and  tories — was 
greater.  Some  of  the  latter  were  violent  and 
cruel  beyond  comparison.  But  for  them  our 
independence  would  have  been  accomplished 
with  ease  :  and  in  consequence  of  what  I  had 
witnessed  in  the  conduct  of  individuals  who 
manifested  so  much  hostility  against  those  that 
were  labouring  to  achieve  our  independence, 
I  imbibed  a  settled  aversion  to  them;  but 
on  my  retiring  from  the  camp,  I  became  con- 
vinced that  I  had  erred  in  supposing  them  all 
alike  in  this  matter. 

On  leaving  the  army  to  return  home,  I 
found  myself  unable  to  keep  up  with  my  com- 
panions in  arms,  who  had  received  their  dis- 
charge, and  were  also  returning  to  their 
homes ;  and  I  accordingly  turned  aside  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  a  relative  who  lived  a 
few  miles  from  the  main  road.  The  man  I 
had  never  seen,  though  I  had  seen  his  wife  and 
daughter ;  nor  did  I  know  any  thing  of  his 
views  and  feelings  respecting  the  war.  When 
I  arrived,  I  was  received  with  expressions  of 
kindness  by  my  relations.  The  sympathies 
of  the  mother  and  daughter  were  strongly 
moved  by  my  affliction.  During  the  absence 
of  fever  there  was  an  unnatural  paleness  on 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  35 

my  countenance,  which  made  me  appear  more 
like  a  dead  than  a  living  man  ;  and  then,  when 
the  fever  came  on,  being  much  bloated,  a 
crimson  hue  flushed  my  cheek,  which  gave 
me  the  appearance  of  being  in  health.  But 
the  sudden  transitions  of  these  two  extremes 
caused  those  who  observed  them  to  suppose 
me  under  the  influence  of  a  hectic  fever. 

The  second  day  that  I  was  with  this  fami- 
ly I  overheard  my  cousin  say  to  his  wife, 
"This  relative  bears  a  remarkable  resem- 
blance to  my  aunt,  his  mother,  and  appears 
to  be  a  kind,  honest-hearted  fellow ;  and, 
though  you  have  heard  me  say,  rather  than  a 
rebel  should  escape  I  wrould  turn  hangman 
myself,  he  looks  so  much  like  my  mother,  and 
is  so  young,  I  should  not  like  to  put  a  knot 
about  his  neck ;  but,  as  for  the  ringleaders 
of  this  nefarious  rebellion,  them  I  could  hang 
with  a  free  good-will."  "  0,  Jacob,"  said  his 
wife,  "I  fear  you  will  yet  bring  ruin  upon 
yourself  and  family."  Through  the  kindness 
and  importunity  of  this  amiable  woman  and 
her  daughter,  my  cousin  was  so  far  softened 
toward  me  as  to  manifest  some  tenderness ;  and 
as  I  remained  with  them  ten  days,  my  health 
and  spirits  were  much  improved. 

The  following  circumstances  led  to  my 
sudden  departure  from  this  place: — While 


36  MEMOIR   OF   REV.   THOMAS   WARE. 

walking  in  the  woods  one  day,  I  saw  a  man 
pass  with  a  horse,  and  heard  him  say,  while 
viewing  the  animal,  "Well,  if  the  news  be 
true,  the  money  I  gave  the  rebel  isn't  worth 
sixpence."  I  hailed  him,  and  inquired  if  his 
horse  was  for  sale.  He  said  he  was,  for  hard 
money.  Having  taken  a  few  guineas  with 
me  when  I  left  home,  lest  I  should  be  taken 
prisoner  and  need  them,  I  finally  contracted 
to  purchase  the  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle,  for 
all  the  hard  money  I  had.  I  took  the  horse 
to  the  stable  ;  but  did  not  ask  the  man  about 
the  news  of  which  I  heard  him  speak.  On 
coming  into  the  house,  my  cousin  met  me 
at  the  door,  with  the  newspaper  in  his 
hand,  and  said,  "  There,  I  always  expect- 
ed it  would  come  to  this.  The  rebel  army  is 
destroyed.  Washington  is  on  the  retreat,  and 
cannot  escape.  So,  cousin,  you  will  tarry 
with  us  and  take  protection.  You  are  young, 
and  may  easily  obtain  a  pardon.  I  will  go 
with  you  to  the  British  officer;  and,  if  you 
have  fears,  we  will  take  Eliza  (his  daughter) 
as  your  advocate."  My  feelings  were  not 
prepared  for  such  a  proposition ;  and,  for  a 
moment,  I  struggled  between  consternation 
and  contempt.  But  soon  my  course  was  de- 
cided. The  feelings  of  indignation,  being 
roused  in  my  bosom,  flashed  in  my  face. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  37 

When  he  saw  this,  he  threw  down  the  paper 
and  went  into  another  room.  Eliza,  I  saw,  was 
in  tears;  and  her  mother  was  absent  with  a 
sick  neighbour.  I  walked  several  times  across 
the  room,  and  then  went  to  Eliza,  and  giving 
her  my  hand,  bade  her  adieu,  adding  that  we 
should  never  meet  again.  I  told  her  that  I 
should  go  and  see  Captain  Dubois ;  and,  if 
the  news  were  true,  I  should  continue  my 
course  to  West  Jersey ;  but,  if  not,  I  might  re- 
turn, as  I  very  much  wanted  to  see  her  mother 
before  I  left.  She  was  too  much  agitated  to 
speak  ;  but,  after  a  while,  became  more  calm, 
and  desired  me  to  stay  until  her  mother  should 
return.  But  I  told  her  I  could  not  delay ;  that 
her  kindness,  and  that  of  her  mother,  I  could 
never  forget;  and  I  hastened  away.* 

*  The  fears  which  I  had  overheard  Eliza's  mother  express 
to  her  lather  that  he  would  bring  ruin  upon  his  family,  were, 
in  a  great  measure,  realized.  When  the  British  were  driven" 
from  New-Jersey,  he,  in  consequence  of  his  violence  against 
the  American  cause,  was  forced  to  flee,  leaving  his  farm  and 
possessions,  which  were  confiscated.  He  went  with  his  family 
to  Nova  Scotia,  where,  in  a  state  of  extreme  poverty,  he  ended 
his  days.  O  how  often  has  my  heart  been  pained  for  his  amia- 
ble wife  and  daughter !  After  the  war  I  saw  a  preacher  from 
Nova  Scotia,  who  knew  the  family.  He  said  the  climate 
proved  too  severe  for  Eliza's  constitution,  and  she  soon  lost  her 
sprightliness,  and  went  into  a  decline.  She,  however,  re- 
nounced the  world,  and  gave  her  heart  to  God,  and  finally  died, 
enjoying  the  consolations  of  religion.  A  more  lovely  and  inte- 
resting sufferer,  he  said,  he  had  seldom  seen. 


38  MEMOIR    OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

I  found  Captain  Dubois  making  ready  to 
move  with  his  family  to  some  place  of  safety, 
being  quite  sure  that  New-Jersey  must  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  so  I  set  for- 
ward toward  home.  Fully  to  judge  of  my 
feelings,  at  this  time,  one  must  witness  the 
scene  I  did,  of  distressed  families  in  flight 
before  the  invading  foe.  The  horror  of  the 
scene  was  heightened  by  the  inclemency  of 
the  day.  A  chilling  storm  of  rain,  hail,  and 
snow,  which  finally  became  a  settled  snow, 
rendered  the  day  most  dismal.  About  noon  I 
halted  at  a  public  house  to  see  if  I  could  ob- 
tain some  refreshment.  The  landlord  inquired 
if  I  had  any  hard  money  ;  and,  being  inform- 
ed that  I  had  not,  he  gave  me  to  understand 
that  I  could  get  no  refreshment  there.  There 
was  a  number  of  persons  collected  at  this 
place,  who,  it  appeared,  were  greatly  delight- 
fed  with  the  news  of  the  disasters  which  had 
befallen  the  army,  and  had  corne  together  to 
feast  upon  the  miseries  of  their  fellow-beings. 
They  would  call  out  to  the  distressed  families 
as  they  were  passing,  curse  them  as  fools  and 
cowards,  and  tauntingly  say,  "  If  you  are  the 
friends  of  Washington,  why  do  you  flee  from  him 
— they  say  he  is  dodging  among  the  hills  off 
the  road — can  he  not  give  you  protection?" 
In  the  midst  of  these,  cold,  and  hungry,  and 


MEMOIR    OF   REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  39 

sick,  I  endeavoured,  for  a  short  time,  to  obtain 
the  benefit  of  the  fire  to  warm  myself.  One 
of  them  addressed  me,  and  said,  "  I  perceive 
by  your  garb*  that  you  are  a  soldier.  You 
have  doubtless  deserted  your  colours,  and  de- 
serve to  be  hanged."  "  O,"  said  another,  sar- 
castically, "  he  is  fasting  and  praying  for  kind 
death  to  come  and  save  him  from  a  British 
halter ;  do  not  disturb  his  devotions."  A 
young  man  present  interposed  and  said,  "  This 
is  brutish.  The  young  man  does  not  think  as 
we  do ;  but  he  is  a  man,  and,  as  such,  he  has 
a  claim  upon  our  humanity.  If  he  will  go 
with  me  to  my  father's  house,  he  shall  have 
what  refreshment  he  wants,  and  be  treated 
with  civility."  I,  however,  chose  to  proceed 
on  my  journey ;  and,  having  warmed  myself, 
I  shook  the  young  man  by  the  hand,  and 
thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  expressing,  at 
the  same  time,  a  wish  that  he  might  never 
need  a  friend,  and  went  on. 

Night  was  now  approaching,  and  the  falling 
snow,  darkening  the  atmosphere,  rendered  my 
lonely  travel  exceedingly  dreary.  I  felt  that 
I  must  have  refreshment  arid  a  shelter  for  the 

*  When  I  volunteered,  at  Perth  Amboy,  to  reinforce  Washing- 
ton, on  Long-Island,  our  ensign  refusing  to  go,  the  colours  were 
given  me,  as  a  reward  for  being  the  first  to  follow  our  captain, 
who  was  the  first  in  the  regiment  that  turned  out  and  called  for 
volunteers. 


40  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

night,  and  saw  I  could  not  reach  the  place  I 
had  in  view ;  I  therefore  resolved  on  calling 
at  the  first  house  which  made  a  show  of  being 
a  house  of  entertainment,  and  asking  for  shel- 
ter through  the  night.  I  was  soon  overtaken 
by  a  well-dressed,  good-looking  young  man, 
who  hailed  me  with,  "  Well,  soldier,  which 
way  are  you  travelling  in  the  storm  ?"  "  To 
West  Jersey,"  I  replied.  "Are  you  lately 
from  the  army?"  he  inquired.  I  replied  in  the 
affirmative.  "  Have  left  it  in  disgust,  I  sup- 
pose," said  he.  "  I  have  thought,  sir,"  said  I, 
"  that  the  American  people  love  their  ease, 
their  money,  and  their  present  safety,  more 
than  their  liberty.  I  am,  however,  no  deserter, 
the  time  for  which  I  enlisted  having  expired." 
" New- Jersey,"  said  he,  "is  doubtless  lost; 
and  with  men  of  thought  it  is  a  plain  case 
that  independence  cannot  be  sustained."  I 
replied  that  it  appeared  doubtful ;  but  had  the 
friends  of  the  cause  shown  that  they  were 
true  to  themselves,  by  furnishing  the  soldiers 
with  such  things  as  they  wanted,  and  sending 
their  sons  to  share  in  their  toil  and  danger, 
instead  of  leaving  them  to  hazard  their  lives 
and  suffer  for  food  and  clothing,  it  might  be 
otherwise.  If  they  went  on  in  this  way,  they 
would  see  who  would  defend  their  rights. 
For  my  part  I  meant  to  go  home,  and  put  off 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  41 

the  badge  of  a  soldier.  I  then  told  him  how 
I  had  been  treated  at  the  public  house,  and 
that  I  had  not  broken  my  fast  that  day.  I 
perceived  he  viewed  me  with  pity ;  and  I 
asked  him  how  far  I  must  go  to  find  a  place 
of  entertainment.  "  There,"  said  he,  pointing 
to  a  house  in  sight,  "  lives  my  father.  You 
must  go  with  me.  My  father  is  a  friend  to 
the  king ;  but,  whatever  your  sentiments  may 
be,  he  will  treat  you  with  kindness."  So  I 
went  with  him. 

It  was  time  my  day's  journey  closed,  for 
when  I  lighted  from  my  horse  I  could  scarcely 
walk.  Being  chilled  through  with  my  long 
ride  in  the  cold  and  snow,  in  my  weak  state 
of  body,  when  I  came  into  a  warm  room  I 
soon  became  speechless,  and  on  my  counte- 
nance appeared  the  paleness  of  death.  I  was 
not,  however,  wholly  insensible  of  what 
passed.  And  here  again  I  witnessed  the  ten- 
der sympathies  of  kind-hearted  woman.  The 
mother  and  sister  of  my  generous  young  friend 
became  such  to  me,  and  exerted  themselves 
to  relieve  me  in  my  distress,  as  much  as  they 
could  have  done  if  I  had  been  a  son  and 
brother.  Revived  by  the  cordial  they  pre- 
sented to  my  lips,  I  could  not  help  exclaiming, 
"I  thought  I  was  among  strangers,  but  I  have 
found  a  mother  and  a  sister  too."  My  clothes 


42  MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

were  wet  through  to  my  body,  and  they  fur- 
nished me  with  a  dry  suit.  While  putting 
them  on,  I  thought  I  had  erred  in  supposing 
that  there  was  no  virtuous  sensibility  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  were  denominated  tories, 
as  the  kindness  I  received  from  this  family 
plainly  showed.  The  father  and  son  were 
royalists,  but  of  the  better  sort,  as  I  had  good 
reason  to  suppose  ;  though  the  mother  and 
daughter  sympathized  with  the  friends  of  the 
revolution. 

All  the  efforts  of  kindness  on  the  part  of 
these  friends,  however,  could  not  save  me 
from  a  chill.  This  was  followed  by  a  burning 
fever,  which  threw  me  into  a  delirium.  In 
this  state  I  imagined  myself  to  be  at  the  house 
I  had  left  in  the  morning,  and  the  daughter  of 
my  host  to  be  my  cousin  Eliza.  During  the 
ravings  which  the  paroxysm  occasioned,  as 
she  was  sitting  near  me,  I  reached  out  my 
hand  and  said,  "  See,  Eliza,  how  my  hand 
burns.  But,  Eliza,  where  are  the  old  people? 
Will  your  father  ever  forgive  me  for  having 
been  in  arms  against  his  king  ?"  The  young- 
lady  saw  I  was  delirious,  and  endeavoured  to 
pacify  me  by  saying,  "My  father  loves  the 
king ;  but  he  thinks  well  of  Washington,  and 
hopes  when  the  Americans  find  that  they 
cannot  maintain  their  independence,  they  will 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  43 

submit  to  honourable  terms,  and  the  king  will 
make  a  great  man  of  Washington."  "  But, 
dear  Eliza,"  said  I,  "  does  your  father  think 
the  king  will  pardon  any  of  those  who  have 
been  in  arms  against  him?"  Upon  this  the 
old  gentleman  replied,  "  O  yes,  he  will  pardon 
them  all,  and  we  shall  all  be  friends  again. 
The  king  knows  he  has  dealt  hard  with  the 
Americans,  and  he  will  yet  do  them  justice." 
When  I  heard  the  old  gentleman's  voice,  I 
knew  where  I  was,  and  my  reason  soon 
returned.  I  then  took  some  refreshment,  and 
retired  to  rest. 

Next  morning  the  daughter  told  me  the 
conversation  that  had  passed  the  night  before  ; 
and  I  informed  her  what  my  impressions  were, 
and  that  I  mistook  her  for  my  cousin,  whose 
father's  house  I  had  left  that  morning.  The 
old  gentleman,  who  was  present,  said,  "  Young 
man,  I  was  much  alarmed  on  your  account 
last  night.  I  felt  that  I  was  a  father,  and 
thought  what  if  this  were  my  son,  a  youth  far 
from  home  and  in  distress — I  will  do  by  him 
what  I  would  wish  another  to  do  by  my  son 
in  a  similar  case."  And  he  concluded  with 
some  explanatory  remarks  on  what  I  had  said 
the  night  before,  evincing  the  intelligence  of 
his  mind  and  the  goodness  of  his  heart.  The 
young  doctor  who  had  invited  me  to  his 


44  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

father's  house,  and  was  probably  the  means 
of  saving  my  life,  insisted  on  my  staying  with 
them  for  a  day  or  two  longer ;  and  such  was 
the  kindness  of  the  family,  that  I  cheerfully 
and  thankfully  consented.  But  the  British 
army  was  approaching ;  and  my  own  safety, 
and  that  of  the  generous  family  who  had 
manifested  so  much  kindness  to  me,  rendered 
it  expedient  for  me  to  depart  without  delay. 
I  accordingly  left  them  with  many  acknow- 
ledgments for  their  hospitality,  and  in  a  few 
days  reached  my  native  town,  to  the  great  joy 
of  my  mother  and  friends,  who  thought  I  was 
dead,  or  a  prisoner,  or  perhaps  had  enlisted 
in  the  continental  army.  This  latter,  which 
my  mother  very  much  feared,  would  probably 
have  been  the  case,  had  not  my  affliction  pre- 
vented it,  as  a  number  of  the  officers  endea- 
voured to  flatter  me  into  it,  by  promising  that  if 
I  would  join  them  I  should  have  the  honour  of 
wearing  a  sword,  and  of  being  the  youngest 
standard-bearer  in  the  army.  But  Providence 
ordered  it  otherwise. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  45 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Mr.  Ware  enlists  again — Hears  of  the  victory  at  Trenton — Is 
not  called  into  service — Sick  among  strangers — Considers  his 
country's  cause  as  safe,  and  turns  his  attention  to  the  state  of 
his  soul — Confused  and  perplexed  with  his  doctrinal  views — 
Expresses  to  his  mother  his  doubts  respecting  his  creed,  which 
gives  her  much  uneasiness — His  faith  becomes  unsettled,  and 
his  mind  troubled  with  infidelity — Restrained  from  gross  vice  by 
physical  imbecility  and  checks  of  conscience — Mind  much  dis- 
turbed— Reads  much,  but  to  little  purpose — Tempted  to  doubt 
Providence — Gloomy  and  desponding — Forms  an  acquaintance 
with  a  young  man  studying  navigation,  and  enters  into  arrange- 
ments to  pursue  the  study,  and  to  go  to  sea  with  him  in  a  vessel 
to  be  commanded  by  his  brother — Providentially  rescued,  by 
being  accidentally  drawn  to  hear  a  Methodist  preacher  preach, 
under  whose  discourse  he  was  much  enlightened  and  strength- 
ened to  seek  the  Lord — Finds  peace — Writes  to  the  preacher — 
Reflections  respecting  Mount  Holly,  where  he  was  converted — 
Anecdote  of  a  Quakeress — Love  feast. 

I  CONTINUED  brooding  over  the  gloomy 
destiny  of  my  native  state,  in  which  all  the 
horrors  of  war  were  experienced,  attended 
with  the  most  disheartening  circumstances, 
until  the  intelligence  arrived  that  the  Hessian 
army  were  made  prisoners.  On  hearing  this, 
a  glow  of  health  reddened  my  cheek,  arid  I 
again  volunteered  for  the  service.  But,  after 
starting  for  the  army,  we  were  met  with  the 
cheering  intelligence  of  the  brilliant  affair  at 
Trenton,  and  my  companions  in  arms  returned 
home  singing  for  joy.  I,  however,  was  destined 


46   jfr  MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE. 

to  remain  long   among  strangers,  sick,   and 
nigh  unto  death. 

From  this  time  I  considered  my  country 
safe,  nor  ever  after  sickened  at  the  thought  of 
wearing  the  chains  of  civil  bondage.  But, 
alas !  I  wore  chains  infinitely  more  galling 
than  any  ever  forged  by  an  earthly  tyrant. 
My  soul  was  in  bondage  to  sin.  Civil  freedom 
I  thought  I  understood,  and  gloried  much  in 
it.  But  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  promul- 
gated by  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,  I  understood  not.  This  law  is  indeed 
suited  to  the  lapsed  state  of  man.  To  all  it- 
affords  grace  to  accept  of  its  provisions — asks 
not  holiness  as  a  condition  of  pardon  and 
mercy,  but  faith;  and  by  love  are  its  requisi- 
tions fulfilled.  When  the  trembling  jailer 
inquired  of  Paul  and  Silas  what  he  must  do 
to  be  saved — saved  from  the  guilt  he  felt  and 
the  vengeance  he  feared — they  replied,  "Be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt 
be  saved."  But  alas !  I  knew  this  not.  My 
views  were  confused,  and  I  understood  not 
the  plan  of  salvation.  I  thought  of  man  as 
under  the  law  purely,  which  gives  no  strength 
to  keep  it,  and  requires  perfect  obedience,  on 
pain  of  suffering  its  penalty.  If  some  were 
elected,  they  could  no  more  live  by  such  a  law 
than  those  who  were  passed  by.  But  to  these 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  47 

the  curses  of  the  law  were  quite  harmless ;  for 
although  it  called  for  vengeance  on  them,  and 
thundered  its  anathemas  against  them,  they 
were  averted  by  a  mighty  arm,  and  fell  with 
double  force  upon  those  devoted  to  eternal 
pain.  Such  were  my  confused  views  about 
religion.  Now  what  could  such  a  one  as  I 
do?  My  physical  powers  were  prostrated 
by  disease,  and  my  mind  bewildered  by  the 
religious  opinions  I  had  been  taught  in  my 
childhood,  without  being  able  to  understand 
them.  It  is  true,  I  sometimes  read ;  but  su- 
perstitiously  believing  that  God's  effective  will 
was  hidden  from  man,  I  doubted  much  if  what  I 
read  was  true.  For  if  God  does  not  will  that 
all  should  come  to  him,  through  Christ,  and 
be  saved,  I  inquired,  what  in  fact  does  he 
will?  If  salvation  be  not  conditional,  may 
not  some  who  live  and  die  in  sin  escape  at 
last?  Can  it  be  consistent  with  the  divine 
veracity  to  say,  that  God  secretly  wills  the 
death  of  most  men,  though  he  plainly  declares 
he  is  "not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  come  to  repentance  ?"  2  Peter 
iii,  9.  As  well  may  we  suppose  that  he  se- 
cretly designs  that  all  shall  live,  though  he 
has  denounced  eternal  punishment  against  the 
finally  impenitent.  Such  were  my  reason- 
ings. 


48  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE, 

I  had  been  led  to  infer,  from  the  effect  my 
reading  of  the  Catechism  and  Confession  of 
Faith  had  produced  on  my  mind,  that  no 
human  being  was  ever  properly  in  a  state  of 
trial,  not  even  Adam  himself.  I  accordingly 
expressed  to  my  mother  my  disbelief,  for  the 
reason  I  have  named,  in  the  doctrine  set  forth 
in  those  works.  She  seemed  much  concerned, 
and  said,  "  Beware,  my  son,  how  you  believe 
a  doctrine  false  which  is  so  clearly  proved  by 
Scripture.  "  I  know,"  said  I,  "  our  minister 
told  us  last  sabbath  that  God's  decrees  ever 
had  in  view  his  own  glory  and  the  salvation 
of  the  elect  by  Jesus  Christ;  and  that  this 
was  true  even  in  respect  to  the  transgression 
and  fall  of  our- first  parents  ;  but  tell  me,  my 
dear  mother,  whose  glory  and  benefit  had  he 
in.  view  when  he  decreed  the  damnation  of 
millions  of  his  unborn,  and  consequently  unof- 
fending creatures  ?  Alas  !  how  can  I  love  a 
God  whom  I  view  as  making  man,  willing 
him  to  sin,  and  then  punishing  him  eternally 
for  it  ?"  Here  I  was  silenced  by  my  mother's 
tears.  But  I  could  not  longer  hold  to  this 
system.  In  leaving  it,  however,  I  did  not  find 
the  right  way.  I  resorted  to  nature's  laws  as 
my  guide,  preferring  to  believe  that  the  Deity 
had  revealed  no  will,  rather  than  admit  that 
he  had  revealed  one  so  much  at  variance  with 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  49 

himself  and  the  dictates  of  reason — that  he 
had  made  no  decree  with  respect  to  the  future 
destiny  of  man,  rather  than  entertain  the 
opinion  that  he  had  made  one  in  which  he  has 
sworn  by  himself  he  has  no  pleasure. 

In  this  state  of  mind  a  wide  door  was  open 
before  me  to  launch  forth  into  all  the  vices 
and  follies  of  that  dark  and  cloudy  day.  But 
two  things,  providentially,  operated  as  a  check 
upon  me.  My  physical  powers  were  para- 
lyzed by  protracted  affliction ;  and  my  con- 
science, though  greatly  darkened,  had  yet 
some  influence  to  restrain  me  from  licentious 
freedom  in  a  course  of  wickedness.  But  how 
easily  is  man  blinded  by  the  deceitfulness  of 
sin?  When  reason,  always  proud,  silences 
conscience  by  a  too  hasty  decision  against 
its  dictates,  what  is  man?  A  steed  broken 
loose,  bounding  over  hill  and  dale,  gambolling 
in  the  wilderness  and  on  the  barren  waste. 
Thus  was  it  with  me,  fool  that  I  was.  But 
the  horrifying  profaneness  of  scoffing  infidels, 
with  whom  I  came  in  contact,  so  shocked  my 
feelings  that  I  sped  my  way  back,  or  rather 
turned  aside,  and  sought  an  asylum  from  my 
woes  in  gloomy  solitude. 

I  was  now,  for  several  months,  little  better 
than  a  maniac.  I  delighted  in  nothing  so 
much  as  in  being  alone.  To  wander  in  re- 

3 


60  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WAR'J 

tired  places,  and  indulge  in  the  reveries  of  my 
own  mind,  or  among  the  works  of  God,  with 
which  I  was  surrounded ;  sometimes  cherish- 
ing the  delightful  thought  that  I  had  an  inte- 
rest in  the  great  Parent  of  all,  and  was  an  ob- 
ject of  his  pity,  accorded  most  with  my  state 
of  feeling.  And,  on  such  occasions,  I  was 
sometimes  melted  to  tears.  At  other  times  I 
was  led  to  adopt  the  language  of  the  poet, — 

"  Ten  thousand  midnights  roll'd  their  midnight  gloom, 
In  sullen  pomp,  along  a  starless  sky !" 

At  times  I  devoted  myself  much  to  reading. 
Interesting  histories  I  preferred  to  any  other 
solid  works ;  but  novels  took  the  lead,  and  I 
devoured  all  I  could  procure.  With  my 
jaundiced  eyes  I  could  find  nothing  in  the  Bi- 
ble whereon  to  build,  but  a  doubtful  perad- 
venture — a  mere  shadow — and  with  this  I 
dare  no  more  converse  than  with  a  spectre 
from  the  dismal  shades.  In  such  a  state 
where  or  to  whom  could  I  go  for  instruction 
and  relief? 

There  were  indeed  in  the  place  a  little  pray- 
ing, self-denying  band  of  Christians.  But 
they  were  held  in  derision  by  the  laughing 
multitude,  and  denounced  as  fanatics  by  the 
graver  sort.  These  could  have  told  me  what 
I  so  much  desired  to  know,  and  led  me  to  the 
Rock  cleft  for  me  and  all  mankind.  But  of 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  51 

this  I  was  ignorant ;  and  I  fled  to  gloomy  so- 
litude, foster-mother  of  moping  melancholy 
and  sad  despair.  Look  which  way  I  would, 
all  was  darkness — darkness  through  which 
no  ray  of  light  could  pass,  except  a  sudden 
flash  like  vivid  lightning,  too  quickly  gone  to 
show  from  whence  it  came. 

I  was  urged  on  by  the  subtle  foe  to  doubt 
of  providence  and  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul — at  least  of  consciousness  to  those  who 
sleep  in  death  until  the  end  of  time ;  and  that 
sleep  I  sometimes  much  coveted.  But  some- 
thing gently  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  Be  on 
your  guard — these  melancholy  thoughts  may 
pave  the  way  to  suicide,  and  bring  upon  your 
name  an  indelible  stain.  Think  how  the  tale 
of  horror  would  petrify  the  heart  of  your  dear 
mother,  in  whose  fond  maternal  arms  you 
were  so  lately  caressed,  and  from  whom  you 
have  so  often  received  the  affectionate  charge 
to  lead  a  virtuous  life.  If  her  peace  weigh 
aught  with  you,  beware !" 

But  it  is  not  in  solitude  alone  that  the  insidi- 
ous foe  works  ill  to  man,  although  few  escape 
who  devote  themselves  to  gloomy  meditations 
upon  the  condition  into  which  their  conduct, 
or  the  errors  of  an  appalling  creed,  have 
brought  them.  With  almost  as  much  reason 
might  one  expect  to  hail  the  dawn  of  day 


52  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

who  makes  the  hungry  lion's  den  his  retreat 
for  the  night,  as  to  hope  to  escape  uninjured 
by  dwelling  upon  these  things  alone.  But  he 
who  meditates  my  ruin  cares  not  which  way 
I  take,  the  pleasurable  or  the  forlorn,  so  it 
leads  me  to  the  ruin  he  meditates. 

About  this  time  I  contracted  an  acquaint- 
ance with  a  young  man  of  insinuating  man- 
ners, who  was  completing  the  study  of  navi- 
gation. He  was  expecting  to  go  to  sea  with 
a  brother-in-law,  who  was  an  experienced 
commander,  as  his  mate  in  a  brig  which  was 
nearly  fitted  for  the  voyage.  He  had  the 
address  to  induce  me  to  engage  in  the 
same  study  with  him,  promising  to  give 
me  all  the  aid  he  could  until  the  brig  was 
ready,  and  that  I  should  have  the  steward's 
berth  on  board,  when  he  would  assist  me  in 
my  studies  until  I  had  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  art.  And  he  said  he  doubted  not  that 
we  should  make  our  fortunes.  The  brig  was 
to  carry  a  few  long  guns,  have  a  picked  crew, 
and  outsail  every  thing  on  the  seas.  Such 
were  the  inducements  held  out  to  me  to  enlist 
in  the  enterprise.  But  I  knew  not  the  deep- 
laid  scheme.  The  truth  of  the  matter  was,  as 
it  turned  out,  that  the  owners  were  their  coun- 
try's enemies ;  and  the  brig  was  designed  to 
carry  on  a  contraband  trade  with  the  British. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  53 

Between  the  owners  and  the  enemy  there  was 
an  understanding.  The  vessel,  laden  with 
provisions,  was  to  be  thrown  in  their  way,  and 
to  be  captured ;  and  then  a  liberal  price  was 
to  be  paid  for  the  cargo,  and  she  permitted  to 
escape.  Some  of  the  persons  engaged  in  this 
adventure  had  held  offices  under  the  govern- 
ment, and  were  still  deemed  friends  to  their 
country.  They  had,  besides,  enticed  some 
who  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  ser- 
vice to  favour  their  plot,  not  doubting  of  suc- 
cess ;  and,  if  the/  could  not  persuade  those  who 
were  not  in  it  that  their  capture  was  real  and 
unavoidable,  they  hoped  to  quiet  them  with 
money. 

Ignorant  of  all  this  design  and  treachery,  I 
was  drawn  to  the  very  verge  of  the  abyss,  and 
suspected  it  not.  The  brig  was  ready  to  sail, 
and  the  captain  was  in  our  village.  I  had 
been  introduced  to  him,  and  the  time  was  set 
for  me  to  prepare,  at  a  moment's  warning,  to 
embark  and  enter  upon  the  duties  of  my  of- 
fice. Thus  things  stood,  when  a  merciful 
Providence  interposed,  and  prevented  my 
name  being  enrolled  upon  the  scroll  of  infa- 
my. I  was  as  a  frail  bark  tossed  upon  a 
stormy  and  unknown  sea.  The  sea  had  be- 
come calm,  but  I  had  neared  a  vortex,  and 
had  been  well  nigh  swallowed  up.  But  a  kind 


5-1  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

breeze  sprung  up  at  the  moment  of  imminent 
danger,  and  I  was  wafted  into  a  harbour  of 
safety  and  delight. 

Impatient  for  the  hour  to  arrive  when  I  was 
to  enter  upon  an  enterprise  on  which  I  was 
fully  bent,  I  wandered  to  a  neighbouring 
grove,  not  merely  to  indulge  in  reverie,  but  to 
think  more  minutely  on  the  subject  of  our  ad- 
venture than  I  had  before  done.  While  I  was 
labouring  to  find  arguments  to  justify  the 
course  I  was  about  to  pursue,  a  stranger  passed 
me,  though  I  was  so  merged  in  the  thicket 
that  he  did  not  see  me.  As  he  was  going  by, 
he  began  to  sing  the  following  lines : — 

"  Still  out  of  the  deepest  abyss 

Of  trouble  I  mournfully  cry, 
And  pine  to  recover  my  peace, 
And  see  my  Redeemer  and  die. 

I  cannot,  I  cannot  forbear 

These  passionate  longings  for  home ; 

O  !  when  shall  my  spirit  be  there  1 
O !  when  will  the  messenger  come  ?'* 

As  heN  walked  his  horse  slowly  I  heard 
every  word  distinctly,  and  was  deeply  touch- 
ed, not  only  with  the  melody  of  his  voice, 
which  was  among  the  best  I  ever  heard,  but 
with  the  words  he  uttered,  and  especially  the 
couplet,-— 

"  I  cannot,  I  cannot  forbear 

These  passionate  longings  for  home." 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  55 

After  he  ceased,  I  went  out  and  followed 
him  a  great  distance,  hoping  he  would  begin 
again.  He  however  stopped  at  the  house  of 
d  Methodist,  and  dismounted.  I  then  con- 
cluded he  must  be  a  Methodist  preacher,  and 
would  probably  preach  that  evening.  I  felt 
a  wish  to  hear  him  ;  but  thought  I  could  not  in 
consequence  of  a  previous  engagement. 

As  yet  I  knew  very  little  of  the  Methodists. 
My  mother,  who  was  strongly  prejudiced 
against  them,  charged  me  to  refrain  from  go- 
ing after  them ;  and  I  had  heard  many  things 
said  against  them,  especially  that  they  were 
disaffected  against  their  country.  There  was 
one  Methodist  in  town,  however,  to  whom  I 
was  under  some  obligation.  This  good  man 
had  noticed  me ;  and,  suspecting  that  I  was 
under  some  religious  impressions,  he  came 
and  told  me  that  Mr.  Pedicord,  a  most  excel- 
lent preacher,  had  come  into  the  place,  and 
would  preach  that  night,  and  he  very  much 
wished  me  to  hear  him.  I  told  him  I  pre- 
sumed I  had  seen  the  preacher,  and  mention- 
ed the  lines  I  had  heard  him  sing  on  the  road. 
On  inquiring  of  him  if  he  knew  such  a  hymn, 
he  replied  that  he  did  very  well,  and  imme- 
diately commenced  and  sung  it  to  the  same 
tune ;  and,  as  he  was  an  excellent  singer, 
I  was  deeply  affected,  even  to  tears.  I  told 


56  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

him  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  Mr.  Pedicord, 
and  probably  should  hear  a  part  of  the  sermon, 
and  possibly  the  whole,  if  it  were  not  too  long. 
I  accordingly  went,  and  was  there  when  the 
preacher  commenced  his  service.  I  thought 
he  sung  and  prayed  delightfully.  His  text 
was  taken  from  the  24th  chapter  of  Luke : 
"  Then  opened  he  their  understanding,  that 
they  might  understand  the  Scriptures.  And 
he  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and 
thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise 
from  the  dead  the  third  day,  that  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in 
his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem."  Soon  was  I  convinced  that  all 
men  were  redeemed  and  might  be  saved — 
and  saved  now,  from  the  guilt,  practice,  and 
love  of  sin.  With  this  I  was  greatly  affected, 
and  could  hardly  refrain  from  exclaiming 
aloud,  "  This  is  the  best  intelligence  I  ever 
heard."  When  the  meeting  closed,  I  hasten- 
ed to  my  lodgings,  retired  to  my  room,  fell 
upon  my  knees  before  God,  and  spent  much 
of  the  night  in  penitential  tears.  I  did  not 
once  think  of  my  engagement  with  my  sea- 
bound  companions  until  the  next  day,  when  I 
went  and  told  the  young  man  who  had  induced 
me  to  enlist  into  the  project  that  I  had  aban- 
doned all  thoughts  of  going  to  sea.  They, 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  57 

however,  proceeded  in  their  perilous  under- 
taking, were  betrayed,  their  officers  thrown 
into  prison,  and  the  brifr  and  cargo  confisca- 
ted. When  I  heard  of  this,  I  praised  the  Lord 
for  my  deliverance  from  this  danger  and  in- 
famy, which  I  considered  worse  than  death. 

I  now  gave  up  the  study  of  navigation,  and 
abandoned  all  company  but  that  of  the  pious. 
The  New  Testament  I  read  over  and  over, 
and  was  charmed  with  the  character  of  God 
our  Saviour,  as  revealed  in  it ;  and  I  esteem- 
ed reproach,  for  his  sake,  more  desirable  than 
all  earthly  treasure. 

Mr.  Pedicor.d  returned  again  to  our  village. 
I  hastened  to  see  him,  and  tell  him  all  that 
was  in  my  heart.  He  shed  tears. over  me, 
and  prayed.  I  was  dissolved  in  tears.  He 
prayed  again.  My  soul  was  filled  with  unut- 
terable delight.  He  now  rejoiced  over  me 
as  a  son — "  an  heir  of  God,  and  a  joint  heir 
with  Christ."  I  felt  and  knew  that  I  was 
made  free.  And,  as  I  had  been  firm  in  my 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  civil  freedom,  I  did 
hope  that  I  should  be  enabled  to  stand  fast  in 
the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made  me 
free. 

I  was  now  brought  to  reflect  upon  the  cir- 
cumstance which  had  led  to  this  change  in  me 
— this  happy  change,  so  sudden,  so  great,  as 


58  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

hardly  left  a  vestige  of  my  former  self.  -  By  it 
all  worldly  maxims  were  reversed,  and  prin- 
ciples, quite  new,  of  honour  and  of  shame, 
were  introduced  as  governing  the  whole  man. 
It  had  been  said  that  the  Methodists,  with 
Wesley  at  their  head,  were  bringing  shame 
upon  the  whole  Christian  world  by  preaching 
up  free  will,  and  causing  men  to  err  and  even 
blaspheme  against  the  doctrine  of  divine  de- 
crees ;  that  they  maintained  that  all  were  re- 
deemed and  might  share  alike  in  the  blessings 
of  the  gospel-feast ;  and  that  one  of  these 
preachers,  mighty  in  words,  would,  were  it 
possible,  deceive  the  very  elect.  Such  re- 
marks respecting  them  induced  a  desire  and 
determination  in  me  to  hear  them,  though  I 
doubted  much  whether  this  new  sect  were 
sustained  by  the  sacred  oracles.  It  was  soon 
after  I  formed  this  determination  that  the  ex- 
cellent Pedicord  came  to  our  village,  and  I 
was  providentially  led,  as  before  stated,  to 
hear  him. 

Soon  after  I  wrote  to  the  good  man,  in  a 
manner  expressive  of  my  feelings  when  I  first 
heard  him  preach,  as  well  as  those  which  fol- 
lowed. In  the  ardour  and  simplicity  of  my 
soul,  I  said,  "A  thousand  blessings  on  the 
man  who  brought  me  this  intelligence.  On 
my  bended  knees  I  owned  the  doctrine  true, 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  59 

and  said,  it  was  enough — I  may  be  happy — 
heaven  may  be  mine,  since  Jesus  tasted  death 
for  all,  and  wills  them  to  be  saved !  But  I  am 
not  myself ;  my  hopes  and  fears  are  new. 
O  may  I  never  lose  this  tenderness  of  heart. 
Yes,  my  friend,  I  am  thy  debtor.  To  me 
thou  hast  restored  my  Bible  and  my  God. 
And  shall  I  be  ungrateful  ?  No.  I  will  see 
thee  and  confess  the  whole.  Thy  God  and 
thy  people  shall  be  mine." 

Mount  Holly,*  a  pleasant  village  in  the 
county  of  Burlington,  New- Jersey,  was  the 
place  of  my  spiritual  birth;  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, it  has  ever  been  to  me  the  most  lovely 
spot  I  ever  saw,  not  even  excepting  Green- 
wich, the  place  of  my  nativity.  I  was  here 

*  Here,  in  the  summer  of  '76,  we  halted  on  our  way  to  Perth 
Amboy.  We  were  all  volunteers,  and  chiefly  young.  Walking 
one  day  thoughtfully  in  an  unfrequented  part  of  the  town  I  came 
near  to  a  neat  little  dwelling,  rather  tastefully  surrounded  with 
fruit  trees.  A  lady,  in  the  habit  of  a  Quakeress,  invited  me  in, 
remarking  that  she  had  something  to  say  to  me.  So  saying, 
she  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  into  the  house.  When  I 
was  seated,  she  inquired  with  an  affectionate  look,  "Hast  thou 
a  mother  1"  I  replied  that,  when  1  left  home,  I  had,  and  that 
there  was  such  a  resemblance  between  her  and  my  mother,  both  in 
person  and  tone  of  voice,  that  I  could  not  but  be  moved  at  see- 
ing and  hearing  her  speak.  "  Was  thy  mother  consenting  at 
thy  becoming  a  soldier  ]"  she  inquired.  I  stated  that  she  had 
many  fears  on  my  account ;  but,  believing  that  many  mothers 
must  be  called  to  part  with  their  sons  in  the  nation's  struggle  for 
independence,  she  gave  her  consent,  hoping  that  it  might  be  the 
will  of  God  to  preserve  me."  "  Thy  mother,  then,  is  pious," 


60  MEMOIR   OF   REV.   THOMAS   WARE. 

in  former  years  as  a  soldier,  on  my  way  to 
the  army,  and  this  was  my  retreat,  when,  in 
a  state  of  melancholy  bordering  on  despair,  I 
sought  concealment.  Here,  now,  while  the 
joyous  villagers  sought  me  in  vain  on  the 
playful  green,  I  passed  the  solemn  twilight  in 
audience  with  my  God.  Here,  too,  I  had 
spent  the  livelong  day  in  fasting  and  melting 
thoughts  on  Calvary,  agitated  with  petrifying 
fears  and  gloomy  horrors  ;  sometimes  imagi- 
ning sounds  of  ominous  import,  as  though  the 
mountain-tops  had  become  the  rendezvous  of 
fiends  or  beasts  of  prey.  But  when  the  dis- 
quietude of  my  mind  was  allayed  by  the 

she  added.  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "my mother  is  pious;  but  she  is 
a  predestinarian  in  her  views,  and  fondly  hopes  that  it  is  the 
will  of  God  that  our  country  shall  be  free ;  and,  on  that  account, 
gave  her  consent  the  more  readily."  "  Thee  knows,"  said  the 
kind-hearted  woman,  "  the  Friends  do  not  hold  to  war  ;  and  my 
heart  is  pained  to  see  so  many  goodly  young  men  called  from 
home,  and  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  the  camp — many  doubtless 
to  be  slaughtered  or  led  away  captive.  It  may  be,  as  thy  mo- 
ther supposes,  the  will  of  our  heavenly  Father  that  we  should  be 
free.  But,  were  it  so,  it  might  doubtless  be  effected  without 
the  shedding  of  blood.  For  thy  sake,  and  for  thy  mother's 
sake,  I  hope  the  Lord  will  preserve  thee ;  and,  if  thou  cast  thy 
care  upon  him,  in  well-doing,  he  will  preserve  thee."  Then, 
giving  me  some  choice  fruit,  she  charged  me  to  abstain  from  the 
use  of  strong  drink,  saying,  "  It  is  a  destroyer,  and  I  fear  it  has 
destroyed  my  youngest  son."  "Now,"  added  she,  "if  thou 
dost,  from  the  fear  of  God,  abstain  from  strong  drink,  I  am  sure 
he  will  preserve  thee."  And,  from  that  hour,  I  have  only  used 
it  medicinally.  When  I  drew  my  rations,  as  a  soldier,  I  poured 
it  upon  the  ground. 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  61 

peaceful  enjoyment  of  the  grace  of  life,  I  no 
longer  sought  concealment ;  and  it  was 
strange  to  see  with  what  amazement  many 
listened  while  I  told  them  what  the  Lord  had 
done  for  me.  Some  wept  bitterly,  confessed 
their  ignorance  of  such  a  state,  and  pro- 
nounced me  happy  ;  while  others  thought  me 
mad,  and  on  the  Methodists,  not  on  me,  laid 
all  the  blame  of  what  they  conceived  to  be 
my  derangement. 

The  spirit  and  character  of  the  work  which 
was  prevailing  through  the  country  at  this 
time  may  be  gathered  from  an  account  of  a 
love  feast,  as  furnished  by  me  for  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  Journal,  and  published  in 
that  paper. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1780,  when  we 
were  contending  for  independence,  not  with 
Great  Britain  alone,  but  with  her  Indian  and 
Hessian  mercenaries,  and  what  was  worse, 
with  many  of  our  fellow-citizens  who  despised 
independence,  or,  in  despair  of  obtaining  it, 
had  joined  the  enemy ;  when  our  country  was 
laid  waste  by  fire  and  sword,  and  many  hun- 
dreds who  had  embarked  in  the  cause  of 
freedom  were  perishing  in  captivity,  with 
hunger  and  cold;  when  many  bosoms  were 
agitated  with  the  thoughts  of  revenge  on  our 
cruel  and  unnatural  enemies,  and  resolved 


62  MEMOIR    OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

with  independence  to  live  or  die — it  was  at 
such  a  time  as  this,  when  little  was  known,  or 
thought,  or  said  about  the  way  to  heaven,  a 
missionary  of  the  Methodist  order  volunteered 
for  East  Jersey,  and  was  instrumental  in  pro* 
ducing  a  religious  'excitement  of  a  very  inte- 
resting character.  Many  who  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  that  they  were  accountable  creatures, 
and  lived  in  enmity  one  with  another  on 
account  of  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  great 
national  quarrel,  were  brought  to  follow  the  ad- 
vice of  St  Paul,  "  Be  ye  kind  one  to  another, 
tender-hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even 
as  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  hath  forgiven  you." 
Of  this  I  saw  a  pleasing  exhibition  in  a  love- 
feast,  at  a  quarterly  meeting  held  by  our  mis- 
sionary, Mr.  George  Mair,  previous  to  his 
taking  leave  of  his  spiritual  children  in  the 
north-west  part  of  East  Jersey.  I  saw  there 
those  who  had  cordially  hated  lovingly  em- 
brace each  other,  and  heard  them  praise  the 
Lord  who  had  made  them  one  in  Christ. 
The  meeting  was  held  in  a  barn,  attended  by 
several  preachers,  one  of  whom  opened  it  on 
Saturday,  and  great  power  attended  the  word; 
many  wept  aloud,  some  for  joy,  and  some  for 
grief ;  many,  filled  with  amazement,  fled,  and 
left  room  for  the  preachers  to  have  access 
to  the  mourners  to  pray  with  and  exhort  them 


MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  63 

to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  many  did, 
and  rejoiced  with  great  joy.  Such  a  meeting 
I  had  never  seen  before. 

Next  morning  we  met  early  for  love-feast. 
All  that  had  obtained  peace  with  God,  and  all 
who  were  seeking  it,  were  invited,  and  the 
barn  was  nearly  full.  As  few  present  had 
ever  been  in  a  love-feast,  Mr.  Mair  explained 
to  us  its  nature  and  design,  namely,  to  take  a 
little  bread  and  water,  not  as  a  sacrament,  but 
in  token  of  our  Christian  love,  in  imitation  of 
a  primitive  usage,  and  then  humbly  and  briefly 
to  declare  the  great  things  the  Lord  had  done 
for  them  in  having  had  mercy  on  them. 

Mr.  James  Sterling,  of  Burlington,  West 
Jersey,  was  the  first  who  spoke,  and  the  plain 
and  simple  narrative  of  his  Christian  experi- 
ence was  very  affecting  to  many.  After  him 
rose  one  of  the  new  converts,  a  Mr.  Egbert, 
and  said,  "  I  wras  standing  in  my  door,  and 
saw  a  man  at  a  distance,  well  mounted  on 
horseback,  and  as  he  drew  near  I  had  thoughts 
of  hailing  him,  to  inquire  the  news;  but  he 
forestalled  me  by  turning  into  my  yard  and 
saying  to  me,  '  Pray,  sir,  can  you  tell  me  the 
way  to  heaven?'  'The  way  to  heaven,  sir! 
we  all  hope  to  get  to  heaven,  and  there  are 
many  ways  that  men  take.'  '  Ah !  but,'  said 
the  stranger,  'I  want  to  know  the  best  way.' 


64  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

*  Alight,  sir,  if  you  please ;  I  should  like  to  hear 
you  talk  about  the  way  you  deem  the  best. 
When  I  was  a  boy  I  used  to  hear  my  mother 
talk  about  the  way  to  heaven,  and  I  am  under 
an  impression  you  must  know  the  way.'  He 
did  alight,  and  I  was  soon  convinced  the  judg- 
ment I  had  formed  of  the  stranger  was  true. 
My  doors  were  opened,  and  my  neighbours 
invited  to  come  and  see  and  hear  a  man  who 
could  and  would,  I  verily  believed,  tell  us  the 
best  way  to  heaven.  And  it  was  not  long 
before  myself,  my  wife,  and  several  of  my 
family,  together  with  many  of  my  neighbours, 
were  well  assured  we  were  in  the  way,  for 
we  had  peace  with  God,  with  one  another, 
and  did  ardently  long  and  fervently  pray  for 
the  peace  and  salvation  of  all  men.  '  Tell 
me,  friends,'  said  he,  '  is  not  this  the  way  to 
heaven  V 

"It  is  true,  many  of  us  were  for  a  time 
greatly  alarmed  and  troubled.  We  communed 
together,  and  said,  It  is  a  doubtful  case  if  God 
will  have  mercy  on  us,  and  forgive  us  our 
sins ;  and  if  he  does,  it  must  be  after  we  have 
passed  through  long  and  deep  repentance. 
But  our  missionary,  to  whom  we  jointly  made 
known  our  unbelieving  fears,  said  to  us, 
'  Cheer  up,  my  friends,  ye  are  not  far  from 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Can  any  of  you  be  a 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  65 

greater  sinner  than  Saul  of  Tarsus  ?  and  how 
long  did  it  take  him  to  repent?  Three  days 
were  all.  The  Philippian  jailer,  too,  in  the 
same  hour  in  which  he  was  convicted,  was 
baptized,  rejoicing  in  God,  with  all  his  house. 
Come,'  said  he,  'let  us  have  faith  in  God, 
remembering  the  saying  of  Christ,  Ye  believe 
in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  Come,  let  us  go 
down  upon  our  knees  and  claim  the  merit  of 
his  death  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  he  will 
do  it — look  to  yourselves,  each  man,  God  is 
here.'  Instantly  one  who  was,  I  thought,  the 
greatest  sinner  in  the  house  except  myself, 
fell  to  the  floor  as  one  dead,  and  we  thought 
he  was  dead;  but  he  was  not  literally  dead, 
for  there  he  sits  with  as  significant  a  smile  as 
any  one  present.' "  Here  the  youth  of  whom 
he  spoke  uttered  the  word  glory,  with  a  look 
and  tone  of  voice  that  ran  through  the  audi- 
ence like  an  electric  shock,  and  for  a  time 
interrupted  the  speaker;  but  he  soon  resumed 
his  narrative,  by  saying,  "  The  preacher  bid 
us  not  be  alarmed — we  must  all  die  to  live. 
Instantly  I  caught  him  in  my  arms  and  ex- 
claimed, The  guilt  I  felt,  and  the  vengeance  I 
feared,  are  gone,  and  now  I  know  heaven  is 
not  far  off;  but  here,  and  there,  and  where- 
ever  Jesus  manifests  himself,  is  heaven.'" 
Here  his  powers  of  speech  failed,  and  he  sat 


60  MEMOIR   OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

down  and  wept,  and  there  was  not,  I  think, 
one  dry  eye  in  the  barn. 

A  German  spoke  next,  and  if  I  could  tell 
what  he  said  as  told  by  him,  it  would  be 
worth  a  place  in  any  man's  memory.  But 
this  I  cannot  do.  He,  however,  spoke  to  the 
following  import : — "  When  de  preacher  did 
come  to  mine  house,  and  did  say,  '  Peace  be 
or/  dis  habitation ;  I  am  come,  fader,  to  see 
if  in  dese  troublesome  times  I  can  find  any 
in  your  parts  dat  does  know  de  way  to  dat 
country  where  war,  sorrow,  and  crying  is  no 
more ;  and  of  whom  could  I  inquire  so  pro- 
perly as  of  one  to  whom  God  has  given  many 
days  ?'  When  he  did  say  dis,  I  was  angry, 
and  did  try  to  say  to  him,  Go  out  of  mine 
house  ;  but  I  could  not  speak,  but  did  tremble, 
and  when  mine  anger  was  gone  I  did  say,  I 
does  fear  I  does  not  know  de  way  to  dat 
goodist  place,  but  mine  wife  does  know ;  sit 
down,  and  I  will  call  her.  Just  den  mine 
wife  did  come  in,  and  de  stranger  did  say, 
'  Dis,  fader,  is,  I  presume,  yourn  wife,  of 
whom  you  say  she  does  know  de  way  to  a 
better  country,  de  way  to  heaven.  Dear  wo- 
man, will  you  tell  it  me  ?'  After  mine  wife 
did  look  at  de  stranger  one  minute,  she  did 
say,  I  do  know  Jesus,  and  is  not  he  de  way  ? 
De  stranger  did  den  fall  on  his  knees  and 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  67 

tank  God  for  bringing  him  to  mine  house, 
where  dere  was  one  dat  did  know  de  way 
to  heaven ;  he  did  den  pray  for  me  and  mine 
children,  dat  we  might  be  like  mine  wife, 
and  all  go  to  heaven  togeder.  Mine  wife  did 
den  pray  in  Dutch,  and  some  of  mine  children 
did  fall  on  deir  knees,  and  I  did  fall  on  mine, 
and  when  she  did  pray  no  more  de  preacher 
did  pray  again,  and  mine  oldest  daughter  did 
cry  so  loud. 

"From  dat  time  I  did  seek  de  Lord,  and 
did  fear  he  would  not  hear  me,  for  I  had 
made  de  heart  of  mine  wife  so  sorry  when  I 
did  tell  her  she  was  mad.  But  de  preacher 
did  show  me  so  many  promises  dat  I  did 
tell  mine  wife  if  she  would  forgive  me,  and  fast 
and  pray  wid  me  all  day  and  all  night,  I 
did  hope  de  Lord  would  forgive  me.  Dis 
did  please  mine  wife,  but  she  did  say,  We  must 
do  all  in  de  name  of  de  Lord  Jesus.  About 
de  middle  of  de  night  I  did  tell  mine  wife  I 
should  not  live  till  morning,  mine  distress  was 
too  great.  But  she  did  say,  Mine  husband, 
God  will  not  let  you  die  ;  and  just  as  de  day 
did  break,  mine  heart  did  break,  and  tears  did 
run  so  fast,  and  I  did  say,  Mine  wife,  I  does 
now  believe  mine  God  will  bless  me,  and  she 
did  say,  Amen,  amen,  come,  Lord  Jesus. 
Just  den  mine  oldest  daughter,  who  had  been 


68  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

praying  all  night,  did  come  in  and  did  fall  on 
mine  neck,  and  said,  O  mine  fader,  Jesus  has 
blessed  me.  And  den  joy  did  come  into  mine 
heart,  and  we  have  gone  on  rejoicing  in  de 
Lord  ever  since.  Great  fear  did  fall  on  mine 
neighbours,  and  mine  barn  would  not  hold  all 
de  peoples  dat  does  come  to  learn  de  way 
to  heaven."  His  looks,  his  tears,  and  his 
broken  English,  kept  the  people  in  tears, 
mingled  with  smiles,  and  even  laughter,  not 
with  lightness,  but  joy,  for  they  believed  every 
word  he  said. 

After  him,  one  got  up  and  said,  For  months 
previous  to  the  coming  of- Mr.  Mairs  into  their 
place,  he  was  one  of  the  most  wretched  of 
men.  He  had  heard  of  the  Methodists,  and 
the  wonderful  works  done  among  them,  and 
joined  in  ascribing  it  all  to  the  devil.  At 
length  a  fear  fell  on  him ;  he  thought  he 
should  die  and  be  lost.  He  lost  all  relish  for 
food,  and  sleep  departed  from  him.  His  friends 
thought  him  mad ;  but  his  own  conclusion  was, 
that  he  was  a  reprobate,  having  been  brought 
up  a  Calvinist ;  and  he  was  tempted  to  shoot 
himself,  that  he  might  know  the  worst.  He  at 
length  resolved  he  would  hear  the  Methodists  ; 
and  when  he  came,  the  barn  was  full ;  there 
was,  however,  room  at  the  door,  where  he 
could  see  the  preacher,  and  hear  well.  He 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  69 

was  soon  convinced  he  was  no  reprobate,  and 
felt  a  heart  to  beg  of  God  to  forgive  him  for 
ever  harbouring  a  thought  that  he,  the  kind 
Parent  of  all,  had  reprobated  any  of  his  chil- 
dren. And  listening,  he  at  length  understood 
the  cause  of  his  wretchedness ;  it  was  guilt, 
from  which  Jesus  came  to  save  us.  The 
people  all  around  him  being  in  tears,  and 
hearing  one  in  the  barn  cry,  Glory  to  Jesus, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  did,  he  drew  his  hat 
from  under  his  arm,  and  swinging  it  over  his 
head,  began  to  huzza  with  might  and  main. 
The  preacher  saw  him  and  knew  he  was  not 
in  sport,  for  the  tears  were  flowing  down  his 
face,  and  smiling,  said,  "Young  man,  thou  art 
not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God;  but  rather 
say,  Hallelujah,  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth."  Several  others  spoke,  and  more 
wouM  have  spoken,  had  not  a  general  cry 
arisen  when  the  doors  were  thrown  open  that 
all  might  come  in  and  see  the  way  that  God 
sometimes  works. 


70  MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Anecdote  of  Richard  Ivy  and  two  American  officers — Mr. 
Ware's  religious  friends  signify  their  belief  of  his  call  to  preach 
— He  doubts — Bishop  Asbury  sends  for  him  and  examines  him 
respecting  some  things  reported  of  him  and  his  doctrinal  views — 
Sends  him  to  Dover  circuit — He  is  kindly  received  on  the 
circuit — Sees  fruit  of  his  labours — Preaches  in  a  church  where 
the  vestrymen  undertake  to  turn  him  out,  but  are  defeated. 

SOON  after  I  joined  the  Methodist  society, 
Messrs.  Pedicord  and  Cromwell  were  removed 
from  our  circuit,  and  Dudley  and  Ivy  ap- 
pointed in  their  place.*  In  one  part  of  the 
circuit  there  were  several  families  who  had 
received  the  preachers  from  the  beginning. 
Some  of  these  were  the  most  wealthy  and 
respectable  in  the  vicinity,  only  they  were 
suspected  of  being  unfriendly  to  the  cause  of 
their  country.  They  had  joined  the  Me'thod- 
ists  before  the  war  commenced ;  and  though 
they  had  committed  no  act  by  which  they 
could  be  justly  accused  of  opposition  to  the 
declaration  of  independence,  yet  as  they  re- 
fused to  bear  arms  they  were  considered 
hostile  to  it,  and  the  preachers  suspected  of 
disaffection  on  account  of  continuing  to  preach 
at  their  houses. 

*  It  appears  from  the  minutes  that  this  change  took  place  in 
1780.  The  circuit  was  then  called  Delaware. — Editor. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  71 

Learning  that  a  company  of  soldiers,  quar- 
tered near  one  of  these  appointments,  had 
resolved  to  arrest  the  first  preacher  who 
should  come  there,  and  carry  him  to  head  quar- 
ters, I  determined  to  accompany  him,  hoping, 
as  I  was  acquainted  with  some  of  the  officers, 
to  convince  them  that  he  was  no  enemy  to 
his  country.  The  preacher  was  Richard  Ivy, 
who  was  at  that  time  quite  young.  The 
rumour  of  what  was  about  to  be  done  having 
gone  abroad,  many  of  the  most  respectable 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood  were  col- 
lected at  the  place.  Soon  after  the  congrega- 
tion were  convened,  a  file  of  soldiers  were 
marched  into  the  yard  and  halted  near  the 
door;  and  two  officers  came  in,  drew  their 
swords  and  crossed  them  on  the  table,  and 
seated  themselves,  one  at  each  side  of  it,  but 
so  as  to  look  the  preacher  full  in  the  face. 
I  watched  his  eye  with  great  anxiety,  and 
soon  saw  that  he  was  not  influenced  by  fear. 
His  text  was,  "  Fear  not,  little  flock,  for  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom."11  When  he  came  to  enforce  the 
exhortation,  "  Fear  not,"  he  paused,  and  said, 
"  Christians  sometimes  fear  when  there  is  no 
cause  of  fear."  And  so,  he  added,  he  pre- 
sumed it  was  with  some  then  present.  Those 
men  who  were  engaged  in  the  defence  of  their 


72  MEMOIR   OF  REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

country's  rights  meant  them  no  harm.  He 
spoke  fluently  and  forcibly  in  commendation 
of  the  cause  of  freedom  from  foreign  and  do- 
mestic tyranny,  looking  at  the  same  time  first 
on  the  swords  and  then  in  the  faces  of  the 
officers,  as  if  he  would  say,  This  looks  a  little 
too  much  like  domestic  oppression ;  and  in 
conclusion,  bowing  to  each  of  the  officers  and 
opening  his  bosom,  said,  "Sirs,  I  would  fain 
show  you  my  heart ;  if  it  beats  not  high  for 
legitimate  liberty,  may  it  for  ever  cease  to 
beat !"  This  he  said  in  such  a  tone  of  voice, 
and  with  such  a  look,  as  thrilled  the  whole 
audience,  and  gave  him  command  of  their 
feelings.  The  countenances  of  the  officers  at 
first  wore  a  contemptuous  frown ;  then  a  sig- 
nificant smile  ;  and  then  they  were  completely 
unarmed,  hung  down  their  heads,  and,  before 
the  conclusion  of  this  masterly  address,  shook 
like  the  leaves  of  an  aspen.  Many  of  the 
people  sobbed  aloud,  and  others  cried  out, 
Amen!  while  the  soldiers  without  (the  doors 
and  windows  being  open)  swung  their  hats 
and  shouted,  Huzza  for  the  Methodist  parson ! 
On  leaving,  the  officers  shook  hands  with  the 
preacher,  and  wished  him  well;  and  after- 
ward said,  they  would  share  their  last  shilling 
with  him. 

From  the  time  I  made  a  public  profession 


MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE,  73 

of  religion,  many  of  my  brethren  thought  I 
was  called  to  preach,  and  told  me  so.  But  I 
believed  them  not.  The  affectionate  solici- 
tude I  felt  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  which 
had  prompted  me  to  some  bold  acts  that  I 
had  performed  from  a  sense  of  duty,  I  did  riot 
construe  as  a  call  to  the  ministry,  but  as  a 
collateral  evidence  of  my  adoption  into  the 
family  of  God.  That  a  knowledge  of  the 
learned  languages  was  essential  to  qualify  a 
man  to  preach  the  gospel,  as  many  seemed  to 
think,  I  did  not  believe,  for  some  of  the  best 
preachers  I  ever  heard  had  it  not ;  but  they 
had  other  qualifications — a  good  natural  un- 
derstanding and  discriminating  powers,  which 
fall  not  to  the  common  lot  of  men,  however 
pious  and  learned  they  may  be.  When  my 
feelings  were  moved  on  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion and  the  salvation  of  souls,  I  could  talk 
somewhat  readily  ;  and  I  sometimes  had  the 
eloquence  of  tears.  My  capacity  and  know- 
ledge were,  in  my  own  estimation,  too  limit- 
ed ever  to  think  of  being  a,  preacher.  I  was 
a  leader  and  an  exhorter ;  and  more  than 
these  I  never  expected  to  be. 

Such  were  my  views  and  feelings  when 
Bishop  Asbury  came  to  New-Mills,  about 
seven  miles  from  Mount  Holly,  and  sent  for  me 

to  come  and  see  him.     I  had  not  been  intro- 
*  4 


74  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

duced  to  him,  nor  did  he  previously  know  me. 
On  entering  his  room,  he  fixed  his  discrimina- 
ting eye  upon  me,  and  seemed  to  be  examin- 
ing me  from  head  to  foot  as  I  approached 
him.  He  reached  me  his  hand,  and  said, 
"  This,  I  suppose,  is  brother  Ware,  or,  shall  I 
say,  Pedicord  the  younger."  I  replied,  "  My 
name  is  Ware,  sir,  and  1  claim  some  affinity 
to  the  Wesleyan  family,  and  Mr.  Pedicord  as 
my  spiritual  father."  "  You  then  revere  the 
father  of  the  Methodists?"  said  he.  "  I  do,"  I 
replied,  "greatly;  the  first  time  I  heard  his 
name  mentioned,  it  was  said  of  him,  by  way 
of  reproach,  that  he  had  brought  shame  upon 
the  Christian  world  by  preaching  up  free  will. 
Free  will,  said  I,  and  what  would  you  have 
him  preach  ?  bound  will  ?  he  might  as  well 
go  with  St.  Patrick  and  preach  to  the  fish,  as 
preach  to  men  without  a  will.  From  that 
time,  I  resolved  to  hear  the  Methodists, 
against  whom  I  had  been  so  much  preju- 
diced." 

"  Sit  down,"  said  Mr.  Asbury, "  I  have  some- 
what to  say  unto  thee.  Have-  all  men  since 
the  fall  been  possessed  of  free  will  ?"  I  re- 
plied, that  I  considered  they  had  since  the 
promise  made  to  Adam,  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head. 
"  Can  man  then  turn  himself  and  live  ?"  said 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  75 

he.  "  So  thought  Ezekiel,"  I  replied,  "  when 
he  said,  Turn  yourselves  and  live ;"  remarking, 
as  I  understood  it,  that  he  can  receive  the  tes- 
timony which  God  has  given  of  his  Son  ;  and 
thus,  through  grace,  receive  power  to  be- 
come a  child  of  God.  "  Are  all  men  account- 
able to  God?"  he  still  further  inquired.  I 
replied,  "  The  almighty  Jesus  says,  '  Behold 
I  come  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with  me, 
to  give  to  every  man  according  as  his  works 
shall  be.' "  "On  what  do  you  found  the  doc- 
trine of  universal  accountability  ?"  he  added. 
"  On  the  doctrine  of  universal  grace — '  The 
grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  unto  all  men,' "  &c.,  was  my  reply. 
He  then  looked  at  me  very  sternly,  and 
said,  "  What  is  this  I  hear  of  you?  It  is  said 
you  have  disturbed  the  peaceful  inhabitants 
of  Holly,  by  rudely  entering  into  a  house 
where  a  large  number  of  young  people  were 
assembled  for  innocent  amusement,  and  when 
welcomed  by  the  company  and  politely  invited 
to  be  seated,  you  refused,  and  proceeded  to 
address  them  in  such  a  way  that  some  be- 
came alarmed  and  withdrew,  and  the  rest  soon 
followed."  To  this  I  answered,  "  My  zeal  in 
this  affair  may  have  carried  me  too  far.  But 
I  knew  them  to  be  generally  my  friends  and 
well-wishers,  and  felt  to  do  as  the  man 


76  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

out  of  whom  Christ  cast  a  legion  of  devils 
was  directed,  namely,  to  go  and.  show  my 
friends  how  great  things  God  had  done  for 
me.  It  is  true,  when  I  entered  the  room, 
some  appeared  delighted  to  see  me,  and 
heartily  welcomed  me  ;  but  those  who  knew 
me  best  appeared  sad.  And  when  invited  to 
take  a  glass  and  be  seated,  I  told  them  I  must 
be  excused,  for  I  had  not  come  to  spend  the 
evening  with  them,  but  to  invite  them  to  spend 
it  with  me.  '  You  know  me,'  I  said, '  and  how 
delighted  I  have  often  been  in  your  company, 
and  with  the  amusements  in  which  you  have 
met  to  indulge.  But  I  cannot  now  go  with 
you.  My  conscience  will  not  permit  me  to 
do  so.  But  as  none  of  your  consciences,  I  am 
persuaded,  forbid  your  going  with  me,  I  have 
come  to  invite  you  to  go  with  me  and  hear 
the  excellent  Mr.  Pedicord  preach  his  farewell 
sermon.  Pardon  me,  my  friends,  I  am  con- 
strained to  tell  you,  the  Lord  has  done  great 
things  for  me  through  the  instrumentality  of 
this  good  man.'  The  circle  was  not  very 
large.  Not  a  word  of  reply  was  made  to 
what  I  said.  Some  were  affected,  and  soon 
left  after  I  withdrew.  It  is  true  some  of  the 
citizens  were  offended,  and  said  it  was  too 
much  that  the  Methodists  should  give  tone  to 
the  town.  '  Must  the  youth  of  Mount  Holly/ 


MEMOIR    OF    REV,    THOMAS    WARE.  77 

said  they,  '  ask  leave  of  the  Methodists  if 
they  would  spend  an  evening  together  in  in- 
nocent amuse  me  ntT  Others  said,  'The  young 
man  must  have  acted  from  a  divine  impulse, 
or  he  could  not  have  done  it,  as  he  is  natu- 
rally diffident  and  unassuming.'  But  I  never 
knew  that  any  one  of  the  party  was  offended." 
Bishop  Asbury  listened  to  this  simple  ex- 
planation of  the  matter  attentively,  but  with- 
out relaxing  the  sternness  of  his  look,  or 
making  any  reply  to  it.  He  then  branched 
off  to  another  subject.  "  Was  it  not  bold  and 
adventurous,"  said  he,  "for  so  young  a  Method- 
ist to  fill,  for  a  whole  week,  without  license 
or  consultation,  the  appointments  of  such  a 
preacher  as  George  Mair?"  I  replied  that  Mr. 
Mair  was  suddenly  called  from  the  circuit  by 
sickness  in  his  family,  and  I  saw  that  he  was 
deeply  afflicted,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
distress  his  family  were  suffering,  but,  espe- 
cially, because  of  the  disappointments  it  must 
occasion  on  a  part  of  the  circuit  where  there 
was  a  good  work  going  on ;  that  some  of  these 
appointments  were  new,  and  there  was  no 
one  to  hold  any  meeting  with  the  people  what- 
ever ;  that  I  was  therefore  induced,  soon  after 
he  was  gone,  to  resolve  on  going  to  some  of 
these  places  and  telling  those  who  might  come 
out  the  cause  of  the  preacher's  absence ;  and 


78  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

that  if  I  was  sometimes  constrained  to  exhort 
these  people,  without  a  formal  license,  it  was 
with  fear  and  trembling,  and  generally  very 
short,  unless  when  the  tears  of  the  people 
caused  me  to  forget  that  I  was  on  unauthor- 
ized ground. 

He  still  said  nothing,  either  by  way  of  re- 
proof or  commendation,  more  than  the  manner 
of  his  introducing  the  subjects  might  seem  to 
imply.  And  being  under  an  impression  that 
his  remarks  were  designed  to  mortify  me  for 
my  course  in  the  matter  of  the  ball,  and  in 
taking  the  circuit  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Mair, 
I  said,  "  Mr.  Asbury,  if  the  person  who  inform- 
ed you  against  me  had  told  me  of  my  errors, 
I  would  have  acknowledged  them."  Here  he 
stopped  me,  by  clasping  me  in  his  arms,  and 
saying  in  an  affectionate  tone,  "  You  are  alto- 
gether mistaken,  my  son — it  was  your  friend 
Pedicord  who  told  me  of  your  pious  deeds, 
and  advised  that  you  should  be  sent  to  Dover 
circuit,  saying  that  he  would  be  responsible 
that  no  harm,  but  good,  would  result  from  it." 
He  then  told  me  that  I  must  go  down  to  the 
peninsula,  and  take  the  Dover  circuit,  which 
had  but  one  preacher  on  it ;  that  I  could  tell 
the  people,  if  I  pleased,  that  I  did  not  come 
in  the  capacity  of  a  preacher,  but  only  to 
assist  in  keeping  up  the  appointments  until 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  79 

another  could  be  sent ;  and  that  he  would  give 
me  a  testimonial  to  introduce  me.  But  if  they 
did  not  cordially  receive  me,  he  said,  I  might 
return,  and  he  would  see  me  and  compensate 
me  for  my  time  and  expenses. 

Here  I  was  caught,  and  how  could  I  decline  ? 
If,  when  my  zeal  prompted  me  to  take  a  cir- 
cuit in  the  absence  of  a  preacher  for  one  week, 
I  had  found  favour  in  the  sight  of  the  people, 
so  as  to  occasion  my  being  recommended  to 
Mr.  Asbury  in  this  way,  ho  w  could  I  refuse  when 
he  requested  me  to  go  and  assist  in  keeping 
up  the  appointments  on  a  circuit  which  need- 
ed aid,  being  now  regularly  licensed  to  exhort, 
until  a  preacher  could  be  sent  to  it  ?  Sol  told 
him,  if  he  insisted  on  it,  I  would  go  and  do 
the  best  I  could ;  but  I  feared  I  should  do 
more  harm  than  good,  and  be  unhappy  in  con- 
sequence of  not  being  in  my  place. 

Having  pledged  myself  not  to  delay,  early 
in  September,  1783, 1  set  my  face  toward  the 
peninsula,  with  a  heavy  heart.  Some  of  my 
old  companions  in  sin  were  under  religious 
impressions,  and  were  very  much  afflicted  at 
the  thought  of  my  leaving  them.  In  Mount 
Holly  I  thought  I  might  do  some  good ;  but 
at  Dover  it  seemed  doubtful.  Yet  my  pledge 
was  given,  and  must  be  fulfilled. 

I  was   kindly   received   by  the  people  on 


80  MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS   WARE 

Dover  circuit,  and  soon  saw  that  that  was  the 
place  for  me.  I  was  made  to  forget  that  I 
was  among  strangers.  The  simplicity,  urba- 
nity, and  fervent  piety,  of  the  Methodists,  on 
Dover  circuit,  were  such  that,  after  visiting  a 
society  once,  it  seemed  long  before  I  was  to 
return  to  it  again.  Some  of  the  members 
were  wealthy  and  in  the  higher  circles  of  life ; 
but  they  were  not  ashamed  to  bear  the  cross. 
Among  these  there  were  some,  particularly  a 
number  of  females,  distinguished  for  piety 
and  zeal,  such  as  I  had  never  before  witness- 
ed. The  lady  of  Counsellor  Bassett,  and  her 
two  "sisters,*  Mrs.  Jones  and  Ward,  possessed 
an  uncommon  degree  of  the  true  missionary 
spirit,  and  greatly  aided  the  young  preachers, 
by  whom,  principally,  the  Lord  was  carrying 
on  his  work  on  that  favoured  shore.  To  these 
might  be  added  others,  and  especially  the 
wife  of  Judge  White,  who  was  a  mother  in 
Israel  in  very  deed. 

There  was,  at  almost  every  appointment,  a 
goodly  number  of  young  people,  who  were 
seeking  the  Lord.  To  these  I  could  preach  a 
Saviour  whom  I  knew  ;  and  some,  at  almost 
every  meeting,  were  brought  into  glorious 
liberty,  which  had  a  great  effect  on  others. 
I  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  many  of 
these  young  people  into  society.  In  class- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  8  1 

meetings,  too,  I  felt  much  at  home  ;  and  fre- 
quently our  rejoicing  in  the  Lord  was  great. 

In  my  public  exercises  I  was  sometimes 
greatly  embarrassed,  when  tears  came  to  my 
relief,  which  was  often  the  case ;  and  there 
are  few  who  can  resist  the  eloquence  of  tears. 
In  the  meantime  I  prayed,  read,  and  wrote 
much.  My  Bible  was  my  chief  book.  From 
this,  with  such  helps  as  were  within  my 
reach,  I  endeavoured  to  ascertain  the  great 
outlines  of  the  "  doctrinal  map,  exhibiting  the 
boundaries  of  truth,  the  crooked  shores  of  the 
sea  of  error,  the  haven  of  peace,  and  the  dan- 
gerous rocks  on  which  unwary  theologians 
have  been  wrecked." 

I  began  my  public  labours  by  quoting  a 
passage  which  had  been  studied  with  much 
prayer,  and  which  I  thought  I  understood,  and 
by  making  some  practical  remarks  upon  it. 
After  having  been  often  blessed  in  at- 
tempting to  preach,  I  ventured  formally  to 
take  a  text ;  but  not  until  advised  by  some 
whom  I  considered  competent  judges  that  my 
gift  was  rather  to  preach  than  to  exhort. 

While  on  Dover  circuit  we  were  invited  to 
preach  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  at 
Duck  Creek.  Here  I  met  with  an  occurrence 
which,  for  the  moment,  gave  me  some  alarm; 
but  it  was  soon  over,  and  with  it  the  fear  and 
4* 


82  MEMOIR  OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

confusion  of  the  large  congregation  in  whose 
presence  it  happened.  I  had  gone  through 
with  a  part  of  the  morning  service,  and  was 
still  in  the  desk,  where  I  gave  out  my  text ; 
but,  before  I  had  finished  my  introductory  re- 
marks, three  men  came  marching  into  the 
church  in  Indian  file,  and  halted  just  before 
the  desk.  The  foremost  one  announced  him- 
self as  a  vestryman,  and  ordered  me  out  of 
the  desk  and  the  church,  or,  he  said,  he  would 
compel  me  to  go  out.  Finding  I  did  not  com- 
ply, he  seized  me  by  the  collar  and  dragged 
me  from  the  desk.  On  seeing  this,  a  giant  of 
a  man,  near  by,  seized  him  in  like  manner, 
and,  raising  his  huge  fist,  told  him  if  he  did 
not  let  me  go  he  would  knock  him  down. 
Here  Judge  Raymond  called  out  and  said, 
"  Don't  strike  him,  Mr.  Sldllington ;  and  if  he 
does  not  let  the  preacher  go,  and  cease  to 
disturb  the  congregation,  I  will  commit  him." 
He,  however,  had  let  go  his  hold  of  me  when 
threatened  by  Mr.  S. ;  and  with  his  few 
companions  retired.  So  we  got  rid  of  our 
zealous  Churchman. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  83 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Mr.  Ware  attends  conference,  for  the  first  time,  in  1784,  in 
Baltimore — Observations  upon  the  preachers — Is  impressed 
that  he  ought  to  go  home  ;  but  yields  to  the  advice  of  his  friends 
and  spiritual  advisers  to  remain  in  the  work — Is  appointed  to 
Kent  circuit,  eastern  shore  of  Maryland — Anecdote  of  a  cler- 
gyman seeking  a  settlement — Thoughts  on  the  pretensions  of 
the  advocates  of  exclusive  prelacy. 

IN  the  spring  of  1784,  the  conference  sat 
at  Baltimore,  which  was  the  first  I  attended. 
There  was  quite  a  number  of  preachers  pre- 
sent. Although  there  were  but  few  on  whose 

o 

heads  time  had  begun  to  snow,  yet  several  of 
them  appeared  to  be  way-worn  and  weather- 
beaten  into  premature  old  age.  The  whole 
m^niber  of  itinerant  preachers  in  America,  at 
that  time,  was  eighty- three  ; — stations  and 
circuits,  sixty-four ;  and  members  in  society, 
fourteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight.  I  doubt  whether  there  ever  has  been 
a  conference  among  us,  in  which  an  equal 
number  could  be  found,  in  proportion  to  the 
whole,  so  dead  to  the  world,  and  so  gifted 
and  enterprising,  as  were  present  at  the  con- 
ference of  1784.  They  had  much  to  suffer 
at  that  early  period  of  our  history,  and  espe- 
cially during  the  revolutionary  struggle. 
Among  these  pioneers,  Asbury,  by  common 


84  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

consent,  stood  first  and  chief.  There  was 
something  in  his  person,  his  eye,  his  mien, 
and  in  the  music  of  his  voice,  which  interested 
all  who  saw  and  heard  him.  He  possessed 
much  natural  wit,  and  was  capable  of  the 
severest  satire  ;  but  grace  and  good  sense  so 
far  predominated  that  he  never  descended  to 
any  thing  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  man  and 
a  Christian  minister.  In  prayer  he  excelled. 
Had  he  been  equally  eloquent  in  preaching, 
he  would  have  excited  universal  admiration  as 
a  pulpit  orator.  But,  when  he  was  heard  for 
the  first  time,  the  power  and  unction  with 
which  he  prayed,  would  naturally  so  raise 
the  expectation  of  his  auditors,  that  they 
were  liable  to  be  disappointed  with  his 
preaching ;  for,  although  he  always  preached 
well,  in  his  sermons  he  seldom,  if  ever,  reach- 
ed that  high  and  comprehensive  flow  of 
thought  and  expression — that  expansive  and 
appropriate  diction — which  always  character- 
ized his  prayers.  This  may  be  accounted 
for,  in  part,  at  least,  from  the  fact  stated  by 
the  late  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  in  preach- 
ing his  funeral  sermon.  <:  He  prayed,"  said 
the  venerable  Garrettson,  "  the  best,  and  he 
prayed  the  most  of  any  man  I  ever  knew. 
His  long-continued  rides  prevented  his  preach- 
ing as  often  as  some  others ;  but  he  could  find 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  85 

a  throne  of  grace,  if  not  a  congregation,  upon 
the  road." 

Next  to  him,  in  the  estimation  of  many, 
stood  the  placid  Tunnell,  the  philosophical 
Gill,  and  the  pathetic  Pedicord.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  determine  to  which  of  these  primi- 
tive missionaries,  as  men  of  eminent  talents 
and  usefulness,  the  preference  should  be 
given.  Tunnell  and  Gill  were  both  defective 
in  physical  strength.  Pedicord  was  a  man 
of  much  refined  sensibility.  They  were  all  the 
children  of  nature,  not  of  art ;  but  especially 
Tunnell  and  Pedicord.  A  sailor  was  one  day 
passing  where  Tunnell  was  preaching.  He 
stopped  to  listen,  and  was  observed  to  be 
much  affected ;  and,  on  meeting  with  his 
companions  after  he  left,  he  said,  "  I  have 
been  listening  to  a  man  who  has  been  dead, 
and  in  heaven ;  but  he  has  returned,  and  is 
telling  the  people  all  about  that  world."  And 
he  declared  to  them  he  had  never  been  so 
much  affected  by  any  thing  he  had  ever  seen 
or  heard  before.  True  it  was,  that  Tunnell's 
appearance  very  much  resembled  that  of 
a  dead  man;  and,  when,  with  his  strong 
musical  voice,  he  poured  forth  a  flood  of 
heavenly  eloquence,  as  he  frequently  did,  he 
appeared,  indeed,  as  a  messenger  from  the 
invisible  world. 


86  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

Gill  was  eagle-eyed,  and,  by  those  whose 
powers  of  vision  were  strong  like  his,  he  was 
deemed  one  of  a  thousand ;  but,  by  the  less 
penetrating,  his  talents  could  not  be  fully  ap- 
preciated, as  he  often  soared  beyond  them. 
On  this  account,  Gill  was  not  a  favourite 
preacher  of  mine.  But,  in  conversation, 
which  afforded  an  opportunity  for  asking 
questions  and  receiving  explanations  on  deep 
and  interesting  subjects,  I  have  seldom  known 
his  equal.  Jonathan  and  David  were  not 
more  tenderly  attached  to  each  other  than 
were  Tunnell  and  Gill. 

Pedicord  was  a  man  of  a  fine  manly  form, 
and  his  countenance  indicated  intelligence  and 
much  tender  sensibility.  His  voice  was  soft 
and  remarkably  plaintive  ;  and  he  possessed 
the  rare  talent  to  touch  and  move  his  audience 
at  once.  I  have  seen  the  tear  start,  and  the 
head  fall,  before  he  had  uttered  three  sen- 
tences, which  were  generally  sententious.  Nor 
did  he  raise  expectations  to  disappoint  them. 
Like  Tunnell,  he  arose  as  he  advanced  in  his 
subject;  and  if  he  could  not,  with  him,  bind 
his  audience  with  chains,  he  could  draw  them 
after  him  with  a  silken  cord.  Never  was  a  man 
more  tenderly  beloved  in  our  part  of  the  coun- 
try than  he  ;  and  if  the  decision  of  their  rela- 
tive claims  devolved  on  me,  I  should  say  there 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  87 

was  none  like  Pedicord.  But  he  was  my 
spiritual  father. 

Besides  these,  I  might  mention  perhaps 
twenty  others  of  nearly  equal  standing;  and 
a  number  of  them,  perhaps,  the  superiors  of 
those  I  have  mentioned,  in  some  respects.  It 
is  a  pity  that  so  few  of  this  class  of  primitive 
American  Methodist  preachers  have  left  any 
written  memorial  ofihemselves  and  their  early 
labours. 

I  went  to  this  conference  under  an  impres- 
sion that  I  ought  to  go  home  and  endeavour  to 
obtain  an  increase  of  knowledge  and  grace 
before  I  entered  wholly  into  the  work;  but 
when  I  saw  so  many  of  the  preachers  broken 
down,  and  so  great  a  call  for  labourers,  I  yield- 
ed to  the  advice  of  my  spritual  father,  and 
consented  to  take  an  appointment.  I  was  ap- 
pointed with  James  O.  Cromwell  and  William 
Lynch,  on  the  Kent  circuit,  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland. 

Here,  as  on  Dover  circuit,  I  found  a  great 
number  of  young  people,  some  of  them  con- 
nected with  the  first  families ;  and  I  witness- 
ed the  pleasure  of  seeing  many  of  them  lead- 
ing lives  of  piety  and  adorning  the  doctrine 
of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things.  Being  young 
myself,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  render  me  use- 
ful to  this  class,  of  whom  I  admitted  more  into 


88  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

society  than  both  of  my  elder  brethren.  When, 
in  1800, 1  had  charge  of  the  whole  peninsula, 
I  found  many  journeying  toward  the  holy 
land,  who,  in  sixteen  years,  had  advanced 
from  babes  in  Christ  to  fathers  and  mothers 
in  Israel. 

In  September  of  this  year,  (1784,)  I  was  at 
the  house  of  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  whose  wife  was  a  Methodist. 
In  conversation  with  him  he  remarked  that  he 
had  some  hope  of  seeing  the  old  church  re- 
suscitated. "  The  people,"  said  he,  "  are 
gathering  about  our  long-forsaken  church  ;  a 
clergyman  direct  from  England  is  to  preach 
a  trial  sermon,  and  will  probably  be  settled 
among  us  ;  come,  will  you  go  and  hear  him  ? 
he  is  said  to  be  very  learned."  I  told  him  I 
had  come  to  spend  the  day  with  him,  and 
should  be  pleased  to  go  and  hear  the  stran- 
ger. I  accordingly  went,  and,  for  the  first  time, 
heard  the  divine,  exclusive,  and  unchange- 
able right  of  prelacy  preached  up,  but  not, 
as  I  thought,  very  skilfully.  The  parable  of 
the  good  Samaritan  was  the  theme  of  the  dis- 
course. The  preacher  made  the  man  who 
fell  among  the  thieves  to  mean  Adam ;  the 
good  Samaritan,  Christ ;  the  inn,  the  church 
into  which  bleeding  humanity  was  brought  to 
be  bound  up  and  healed  ;  and  the  two  pence 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  89 

given  to  the  host,  the  sacraments  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  supper. 

"  But  who,"  said  the  preacher,  "  is  the  host 
— the  keeper  of  the  inn,  to  whom  the  two 
pence  were  given?  This  is  the  main  thing 
to  which  our  attention  is  called."  Here,  he 
added,  he  hesitated  not  to  say,  fearless  of  suc- 
cessful contradiction,  that  the  apostles  were 
the  prelates  of  the  primitive  church ;  and  that 
diocesan  bishops  were  their  successors  ;  that 
to  them  appertained  the  exclusive  right  of  or- 
dination, confirmation,  and  government;  and 
that  this  order  was  unchangeable,  having,  for 
its  author  and  foundation,  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles. "  These  things,"  said  he,  "  being  un- 
questionably true,  having  the  seal  of  the  church 
whose  infallibility  is  attested  by  Christ  where 
he  says,  '  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it,'  it  follows,  of  course,  that  fallen 
humanity  has  never  been  by  Heaven  intrusted 
to  any  claiming  to  be  clergymen,  who  cannot 
trace  their  ministerial  succession  from  the 
apostles." 

These  assumptions  he  endeavoured  to  sup- 
port by  quoting  some  authorities,  and  pouring 
out  a  flood  of  invective  upon  enthusiasm.  "  It 
was,"  he  said,  "  under  the  magic  influence  of 
enthusiasm  that  some  men  of  distinction  in  the 
Church  had  given  up  diocesan  episcopacy  as 


90  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

apostolic  ;"  and  he  admitted  that  the  infatua- 
tion had  at  times  become  general,  though  not 
universal ;  "for  had  it  been  so,"  said  he,  "the 
gates  of  hell  would  have  prevailed,  the  decla- 
ration of  Christ  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing. John  Wesley,"  he  continued,  "  was  the 
prince  of  enthusiasts.  He,  with  his  babblers, 
as  Rowland  Hill  calls  them,  has  filled  England 
with  enthusiasts.  And  mark !  no  stream  can 
rise  higher  than  its  source  ;  consequently  the 
preaching  of  the  Methodists  can  only  kindle 
an  enthusiastic  flame — a  mere  ignis  fatuus — 
in  any  one."  As  he  thus  expressed  himself, 
a  very  interesting,  pious  female  cried  out, 
"  Glory  to  God !  if  what  I  now  feel  be  enthu- 
siasm, let  me  always  be  an  enthusiast !" 

This  was  a  quietus,  and  threw  the  clergy- 
man into  serious  embarrassment,  as  it  was  too 
evident  not  to  be  perceived  by  all  that  this  re- 
buke from  a  lady  highly  esteemed  for  her 
accomplishments  and  piety,  was  approved  by 
the  congregation  generally  as  justly  merited. 
But  he  had  gone  too  far  to  retreat,  or  even  to 
make  an  apology ;  and  if  he  had  been  dispo- 
sed to  do  the  one  or  the  other,  there  was  still 
a  serious  difficulty — it  was  not  written.  So 
he  hesitated  before  entering  upon  his  third 
head,  which  was  to  note  the  literal  meaning 
of  the  two  pence  mentioned  in  the  text.  But 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  91 

he  ventured  to  proceed,  and  said,  this,  in  his 
opinion,  referred  to  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
which  he  did  think  was  more  in  accordance 
with  the  order  of  God  in  England  than  in 
America.  At  this  allusion  his  audience  evi- 
dently manifested  much  dissatisfaction.  They 
were  not  in  a  state  of  mind,  at  that  juncture, 
to  bear  such  comparisons  between  the  institu- 
tions of  the  two  countries.  The  union  of 
church  and  state,  which  was  evidently  implied 
in  the  allusion,  had  no  advocates  in  this  coun- 
try, except  among  the  disaffected — and  espe- 
cially not  here,  as  the  people  were  imbued 
with  the  principles  of  the  revolution.  He 
could,  therefore,  hardly  have  uttered  any 
thing  more  offensive  to  their  feelings. 

After  the  sermon  was  over,  a  conference 
was  held  with  the  preacher,  which  soon  term- 
inated. Of  what  transpired  I  was  informed 
by  one  of  the  officers  of  the  church,  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted.  In  narrating  the 
facts,  he  said,  "  Having  been  a  vestry-man, 
it  fell  on  me  to  open  the  business.  This  I 
did  by  informing  his  reverence  that  I  feared 
we  should  not  be  able  to  give  him  a  very  libe- 
ral call ;  that  the  Methodists  were  numerous, 
and  the  preachers  generally  acceptable,  so  that 
if  they  had  been  in  orders  there  would  hardly 
have  been  a  serious  Churchman  left.  He  was 


92  MEMOIR    OF   REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

then  requested  to  name  the  sum  we  must  pay 
in  order  to  secure  his  services,  which  he  did. 
He  was  informed,  however,  that  so  large  an 
amount  could  not  be  raised ;  but  as  he  was 
single,  and  his  perquisites  would  be  consider 
able,  and  as  he  had  said  we  were  perishing 
for  lack  of  knowledge,  we  expressed  a  hope 
that  he  would  think  of  the  case,  and  lay  on  us 
as  light  a  burden  as  possible." 

The  gentleman  then  stated  that  fifty  dollars 
a  year  was  all  he  was  willing  to  pay  for  the 
support  of  the  gospel,  twenty-five  to  the  Me- 
thodists, and  twenty-five  to  the  Church ;  and 
added,  addressing  himself  to  the  minister, 
"But  for  one,  sir,  I  must  tell  you  my  mind 
freely.  I  do  not  much  admire  your  preach- 
ing, nor  your  spirit.  My  wife  is  a  Methodist, 
and  she  is  no  more  an  enthusiast  than  your 
reverence.  Such  preaching,  sir,  will  drive 
the  people  from  the  Church."  At  this,  the 
preacher  appeared  agitated,  and  remarked, 
"  I  did  say  many  Chur-chmen  in  America,  I 
feared,  were  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge  ; 
and  here  we  have  an  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
it.  Here  is  a  vestry-man  who  places  Method- 
ist preachers,  the  propagators  of  enthusiasm, 
on  an  equality  with  the  divinely  authorized 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  England.  From  him 
I  will  receive  nothing."  "  Pray,  sir,"  said 


MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE.  93 

another  gentleman,  interrupting  him,  "  we 
cannot  divorce  our  wives  and  turn  our  daugh- 
ters out  of  doors,  because  they  have  joined 
the  Methodists.  There  are  but  two  clergy- 
men on  this  whole  peninsula,  and  one  of 
these  is  a  drunkard.  I  have  been  a  Church 
warden  in  another  state,  and  have  often  said 
I  would  never  leave  the  Church ;  but  I  had 
much  rather  hear  a  Methodist  preach  than  a 
drunken  Churchman."  "  Pardon  me,  sir,"  said 
the  parson,  "  do  you  think  I  am  a  drunkard  ? 
I  perceive  you  mean  to  insult  me.  But  we 
will  make  the  matter  short.  I  have  told  you 
for  what  I  would  serve  you ;  and  I  now  say 
plainly,  that  you  may  perish  for  all  me,  be- 
fore I  will  serve  you  for  any  thing  less."  On 
hearing  this,  they  all  silently  retired,  leaving 
the  priest  intoxicated  with  passion,  as  some 
thought,  if  nothing  else. 

This  was  a  singular  and  extremely  impru- 
dent course.  Such  abuse  of  the  Methodists, 
would,  I  was  quite  sure,  be  very  unlikely  to 
pave  his  way  for  a  settlement  in  that  place ; 
for  at  that  early  period  of  their  history  they 
numbered  among  them  some  of  the  most  re- 
spectable citizens  in  Kent  and  Queen  Anne's 
counties. 

The  exclusive  rights  of  prelacy  I  did  not 
believe,  but  could  not  deny  but  that  I  was 


94  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

uninformed  on  the  subject.  They  were  not  the 
Methodists  only,  however,  who  were,  in  the 
estimation  of  this  clergyman,  acting  without 
a  divine  commission,  but  all  others  also  who 
claimed  to  be  ministers  without  Episcopal  ordi- 
nation. The  first  thing  that  struck  me,  on 
having  my  attention  called  to  this  subject, 
was,  that  without  a  commission  from  God  it 
would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  any 
man,  especially  the  unlearned,  could  by 
preaching  be  instrumental  in  reforming  sin- 
ners. But  there  were  many,  very  many,  on  this 
favoured  shore,  who  had  been  awakened  and 
converted  to  God  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  Methodist  preachers,  and  especially 
that  of  Joseph  Cromwell,  who,  though  he 
could  not  write  his  name,  preached  in  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with  an  au- 
thority that  few  could  withstand.  By  his 
labours,  thousands,  of  all  classes  and  conditions 
in  society,  had  been  brought  into  the  fold,  and 
were  walking  worthy  of  their  profession.  And 
yet,  a  matter  of  which  I  could  riot  help  think- 
ing, no  Episcopal  hands  had  been  laid  on  his 
head.  In  a  word,  the  Methodist  preachers, 
who  were  generally  young,  and  knew  but 
little  of  these  abstruse  questions,  or  of  theo- 
logy generally,  except  what  they  learned  from 
their  Bibles,  had  been  instrumental  in  waking 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  95 

up  a  religious  concern  throughout  this  whole 
peninsula  ;  and  as  the  fruits  of  their  labours, 
many  had  become  praying,  self-denying,  happy 
Christians. 

A  second  thought  that  occurred  to  my  mind 
was,  if  the  Episcopal  clergy  were  really  the 
only  divinely  authorized  heralds  of  the  gospel, 
then  doubless  wrould  God  put  his  seal  upon 
them,  and  they  would  be  known  to  all  men 
as  his  accredited  messengers,  clothed  with  his 
panoply. 

But  I  most  marvelled  that  it  should  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  American  people  would  tamely 
submit  to  have  their  right  of  private  judgment 
in  matters  of  religious  faith  and  practice  so  per- 
emptorily denied  on  the  ground  of  the  papisti- 
cal infallibility  of  the  Church.  The  church 
visible,  the  preacher  said,  was  one  and  indivi- 
sible, and  indefectible  as  to  faith  and  order ; 
and  added,  "  Who  is  he  that  will  venture  to 
say,  that  in  the  visible  church  man  has  not 
always  had  ample  security  against  ignorance 
and  error  in  religion  ?"  Alas !  thought  I,  what 
would  have  been  the  fate  of  the  world,  if  the 
Jewish  church  had  been  consulted  on  the 
Messiahship  of  Christ,  in  the  days  of  his  ad- 
vent? And  what  better  guarantee  had  men  in 
the  days  of  Luther  from  the  Latin  Church? 

While  my  mind  was  exercised  on  this  sub- 


96  MEMOIR   OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE, 

ject,  to  which  it  had  been  directed  by  the  cir* 
cumstances  already  named,  I  was  called,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  place,  to  preach 
a  funeral  sermon.  The  deceased  was  a  per- 
son of  large  possessions,  and  extensive  fam- 
ily connections,  some  of  whom  were  Method- 
ists. These  wished  me  to  preach ;  but  others 
expressed  a  preference  for  Dr.  S.,  the  Epis- 
copal clergyman.  My  wish  was,  that  he 
should  preach,  for  I  knew  not  how  to  preach 
the  funeral  sermon  of  a  man  who  was  allowed 
to  be  one  of  the  most  wicked  men  in  that  part 
of  the  country.  He  was  a  pilot;  and  in  a 
gust  of  passion,  while  boisterously  pouring 
forth  a  volley  of  curses  against  the  sailors  for 
not  managing  the  ship  to  his  mind,  he  fell 
upon  the  deck  in  an  apoplectic  fit,  and  spoke 
no  more.  Understanding  that  the  doctor 
would  be  there,  and  knowing  that  he  would 
preach  if  he  had  the  opportunity,  I  delayed, 
that  he  might  commence.  This  he  did  ;  and 
I  arrived  just  in  time  to  hear  his  text,  which 
was,  singular  as  it  might  seem  for  the  occasion, 
"  I  have  kept  the  faith."  But  it  answered  his 
purpose.  With  the  general  character  and 
habits  of  the  man  the  doctor  was  perfectly 
familiar,  having  often  been  his  guest,  and,  in 
fact,  his  bowl  companion.  But  it  was  his 
faith,  rather  than  his  practice,  which  he  was 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  97 

about  to  commend ;  and  from  what  he  said  it 
would  seem  that  he  considered  the  terms 
Churchman  and  Christian  to  be  synonymous, 
and  that  nothing  could  make  a  man,  who  had 
been  baptized  by  a  duly  authorized  clergy- 
man a  son  of  perdition,  but  apostacy  from  the 
Church.  At  least  the  manner  in  which  he  im- 
proved the  occasion  was  calculated  so  to  im- 
press the  minds  of  his  hearers. 

He  acknowledged  that  his  parishioner  had 
been  a  man  of  pleasure ;  that  he  had  been 
employed  in  a  sea-faring  life  ;  and,  sailor-like, 
was  addicted  to  the  use  of  expletives,  and 
excess  of  wine.  "  But  he  had  many  fine  traits 
of  character.  He  had  been  true  to  his  coun- 
try ;  was  complete  master  of  his  calling,  and 
always  faithful  to  his  employers;  and,  what 
was  best  of  all,  he  was  sound  in  his  religious 
theory,  and  might  be  said,  in  the  language  of 
the  text,  to  have  '  kept  the  faith.'  Nothing," 
said  he,  "could  induce  him  to  forsake  the 
Church  into  whose  bosom  he  had  been  receiv- 
ed by  baptism,  while  many  of  his  connections 
who  outshone  him  in  morals  have  shown  them- 
selves less  tenacious  of  the  faith  once  deliver- 
ed to  the  church  than  he.  The  doctrines,  the 
liturgy,  and  the  apostolic  government,  he  held 
fast  without  wavering;  and  if  in  practical 
piety  he  came  short,  yet  who  will  venture  to 

5 


98  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

say  he  is  not  at  rest,  if  in  his  last  moments 
he  lifted  a  penitent,  suppliant  eye  to  Heaven!" 
The  doctor,  who  well  knew  how  he  stood  in 
the  public  estimation,  and  sometimes  lament- 
ed his  too  great  weakness  in  the  use  of  wine, 
by  a  rather  delicate  reference  to  himself,  en- 
treated his  hearers  not  to  do  as  he  sometimes 
did,  but  as  he  always  said.  This  was  an 
illustration  of  the  principles  of  the  creed  and 
moral  code  which  had  been  to  me  matter  of 
much  reflection,  that  tended  greatly  to  settle 
my  mind  respecting  them.  It  did  appear  that, 
in  his  view,  there  was  no  hell  for  orthodox 
diocesan  Episcopalians,  whatever  else  they 
might  be. 

Nor  was  I  alone  in  this.  Conversing  not 
long  after  with  an  intelligent  Churchman  re- 
specting the  doctor's  sermon,  he  said,  "  If  he 
did  not  send  the  pilot  to  heaven  by  the  way 
of  purgatory,  it  was  because  he  was  not  en- 
tirely sound  in  the  faith — he  is  papistical, 
though  not  a  papist  outright ;  he  is  what  we 
call  a  high  Churchman,  and  is  in  the  habit, 
especially  when  a  little  excited  with  wine,  of 
preaching  all  Churchmen  to  heaven,  and  of  de- 
nying the  right  to  any  man  to  preach,  baptize, 
or  bury  the  dead,  who  has  not  a  regular  Epis- 
copal ordination.  But  there  are  few  Church- 
men in  this  country,  or  even  in  England,  who 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  99 

hold  principles  so  nearly  allied  to  popish  infalli- 
bility," This  gentleman  was  an  Englishman, 
in  orders,  but  had  no  parish ;  and  he  seemed 
to  think  himself  scandalized  by  the  sermon. 
He  knew  Mr.  Wesley  well,  and  had  once 
heartily  despised  him,  not  as  a  fanatic,  but 
as  the  most  ambitious  man,  in  his  opinion,  on 
the  earth.  But  his  views  respecting  him  had 
been  changed,  and  he  said  he  then  esteemed 
him  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  in 
England ;  that  he  had  preached,  written,  and 
lived  down  all  the  violent  opposition  which 
had  been  raised  against  him ;  and  that  he  now 
had  more  of  the  confidence,  love,  and  admi- 
ration of  the  people  in  England  than  any  other 
man.  He  made  some  other  remarks  expres- 
sive of  his  disapprobation  of  the  high  Church 
notions  which  the  doctor  had  shown  so  much 
zeal  to  vindicate,  and  he  said  the  claim  of 
succession  was  generally  acknowledged  to  be 
a  fiction. 

This  conversation,  in  connection  with  what 
had  previously  transpired,  made  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression  on  my  mind.  While  re- 
flecting on  the  subject,  I  opened  my  Bible  on 
the  following  passage  :  "  And  Jesus  came,  and 
spoke  unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is  given 
unto  me  in  heaven  and  earth,"  Matt,  xxviii,  18. 
These  words  were  spoken  to  the  disciples  on 


100  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

their  receiving  the  commission  of  their  Master 
to  go  and  evangelize  the  world.  On  reading 
them,  I  said  to  myself,  "  How  explicit — how 
sublime  are  these  terms !  The  reading  of  them 
inspires  me  with  veneration  and  awe.  Cer- 
tainly here,  if  anywhere,  are  we  to  look  for 
the  exclusive  rights  of  prelacy.  But  are  they 
here  ?  No  ; — nor  have  the  apostles  informed 
us  that  any  such  rights  as  are  thus  arrogated 
were  taught  among  the  private  instructions 
they  received  from  their  Master."  To  me,  then, 
it  appeared  evident,  that  if  diocesan  episcopa- 
cy be  not  a  fable,  it  can  be  nothing  more  than 
a  human  institution.  Moreover,  if  bishops 
and  presbyters  be  not  the  same  order,  I  could 
not  conceive  how  the  terms  could  be  con- 
vertibly  used  by  the  apostles,  as  all  who  read 
the  New  Testament  know  they'are.  Here 
all  my  agitation  and  solicitude  on  the  subject 
of  succession  subsided. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  101 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Dr.  Coke  arrives  in  America — Meets  Mr.  Asbury  at  Judge 
Barrett's,  in  Delaware — A  conference  called  to  meet  in  Balti- 
more on  Christmas,  hence  denominated  the  Christmas  con- 
ference— Organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — 
Beneficial  effects  of  church  privileges  on  the  societies — Re- 
marks on  Dr.  Coke  and  his  views  of  his  brethren  in  America, 
particularly  Mr.  Asbury — Reflections  on  the  state  of  the  socie- 
ties before  their  organization  into  a  church — Mr.  Asbury's 
influence  in  preserving  peace  among  them — Views  entertained 
by  the  Christmas  conference  on  the  subject  of  education — 
Abingdon  college. 

THE  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  was  organized  in  1784,  soon 
after  the  close  of  the  revolution.  It  was  not 
practicable  during  the  war  for  Mr.  Wesley, 
the  father  and  founder  of  the  Methodist  so- 
cieties, to  furnish  an  organization  suited  to 
our  necessities.  But  after  its  termination, 
Mr.  Asbury,  who  lived  in  the  feelings  and  pos- 
sessed the  entire  confidence  of  both  preachers 
and  people,  according  to  their  general  wish 
and  expectation,  made  application  to  Mr. 
Wesley  in  behalf  of  the  American  societies, 
and  he  resolved  without  delay  to  send  over 
Dr.  Coke,  whom  he  first  set  apart  by  the  im- 
position of  hands  to  the  office  of  superin- 
tendent, with  instructions  to  carry  his  plan 
into  effect.  He  furnished  the  doctor  with 


102  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

forms  of  ordination  for  deacons,  elders,  and 
superintendents ;  and  appointed  him,  jointly 
with  Mr.  Asbury,  to  preside  over  the  Methodist 
family  in  America. 

When  Dr.  Coke  arrived  in  America  he  first 
saw  Mr.  Asbury  at  Judge  Barrett's,  (Barrett's 
Chapel,)  in  the  state  of  Delaware,  and  exhi- 
bited to  him  his  credentials.  Mr.  Asbury 
rejoiced  for  the  consolation  of  being  able  to 
hope  that  relief  would  be  afforded  to  the  so- 
cieties, but  said,  "Doctor,  we  will  call  the 
preachers  together,  and  their  voice  shall  be  to 
me  the  voice  of  God."  It  was  accordingly 
agreed  to  have  a  conference,  to  meet  in  Balti- 
more, on  the  ensuing  Christmas. 

Nearly  fifty  years  have  now  elapsed  since 
the  Christmas  conference ;  and  I  have  a  thou- 
sand times  looked  back  to  the  memorable  era 
with  pleasurable  emotions.  I  have  often  said 
it  was  the  most  solemn  convocation  I  ever 
saw.  I  might  have  said,  for  many  reasons,  it 
was  sublime.  During  the  whole  time  of  our 
being  together  in  the  transaction  of  business 
of  the  utmost  magnitude,  there  was  not,  I 
verily  believe,  on  the  conference  floor  or  in 
private,  an  unkind  word  spoken,  or  an  unbro- 
therly  emotion  felt.  Christian  love  predomi- 
nated; and,  under  its  influence,  we  "kindly 
thought  and  sweetly  spoke  the  same." 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS.  WARE.  103 

The  annual  meetings  of  the  preachers,  sent, 
as  they  hold  themselves  to  be,  to  declare  in 
the   name  of  the  Almighty  Jesus   terms  of 
peace  between  the  offended  Majesty  of  heaven 
and  guilty  man,  were  to  them  occurrences  of 
interesting  import.     The  privilege  of  seeing 
each  other,  after  labouring  and  suffering  re- 
proach in  distant  portions  of  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard, and  of  hearing  the  glad  tidings  which 
they  expected  to  hear  on  such  occasions  of 
what  God  was  doing  through  their  instrumen- 
tality, encouraged  their  hearts  every  step  they 
took  in  their  long  and  wearisome  journeys, 
and  served  as  a  cordial  to  their  spirits.     But 
never  before  had  they  met  on  so  important 
and  solemn  an  occasion  as  this.     Fifteen  years 
had  passed  away  since  Boardman  and  Pillmoor 
arrived  in  America,  in  the  character  of  itine- 
rants,  under  the   direction    of  Mr.  Wesley. 
This  was  the  fifteenth  conference.     During 
all  that  time,  those  of  us  who  would  dedicate 
our  infant  offspring  to  the  Lord  by  baptism, 
or  would  ourselves  receive  the  holy  sacrament, 
must  go  for  these  sacred  rites  to  such  as  knew 
us  not,  and  were  entirely  mistaken  respecting 
our  character.     The  charge  preferred  against 
us  was  not  hypocrisy,  but  enthusiasm.     Our 
opposers  did  not  blame  us  for  not  living  up  to 
our  profession  outwardly,  but  for  professing 


104  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

too  much — more  than  is  the  privilege  of  man 
in  this  life,  in  speaking  with  Christian  confi- 
dence of  the  knowledge  of  a  present  salvation 
by  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit.  There  were,  indeed,  a  few  who 
harmonized  with  us  in  sentiment  and  in  feel- 
ing. But,  in  the  general  estimation,  we  were 
the  veriest  enthusiasts  the  world  ever  saw. 

Humiliating  indeed  was  our  condition.  Not 
a  man  in  holy  orders  among  us ;  and  against 
us  formidable  combinations  were  formed,  not 
so  much  at  first  among  the  laity  as  among  the 
clergy.  But  being  denounced  from  the  pulpit 
as  illiterate,  unsound  in  our  principles,  and 
enthusiastic  in  our  spirit  and  practice — in  a 
word,  every  way  incompetent,  and  only  to  be 
despised — the  multitude,  men  and  women, 
were  imboldened  to  attack  us ;  and  it  was 
often  matter  of  diversion  to  witness  how  much 
they  appeared  to  feel  their  own  superiority. 

All  these  things,  however,  we  could  have 
borne  without  concern,  as  the  work  of  God 
was  prospering,  and  the  societies  increasing 
more  rapidly  than  any  other  denomination  in 
the  country;  but  the  want  of  orders  had  a 
tendency  to  paralyze  our  efforts.  Many, 
very  many,  who  had  been  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  God  through  our  instrumentality 
were  kept  from  uniting  with  us  because  we 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  105 

could  not  administer  to  them  all  the  or- 
dinances. 

At  the  Christmas  conference  we  met  to 
congratulate  each  other,  and  to  praise  the 
Lord  that  he  had  disposed  the  mind  of  our 
excellent  Wesley  to  renounce  the  fable  of 
uninterrupted  succession,  and  prepare  the  way 
for  furnishing  us  with  the  long-desired  privi- 
leges we  were  thenceforward  expecting  to 
enjoy.  The  announcement  of  the  plan  de- 
vised by  him  for  our  organization  as  a  church 
filled  us  with  solemn  delight.  It  answered  to 
what  we  did  suppose,  during  our  labours  and 
privations,  we  had  reason  to  expect  our  God 
would  do  for  us  ;  for  in  the  integrity  of  our 
hearts  we  verily  believed  his  design  in  raising 
up  the  preachers  called  Methodists,  in  this 
country,  was  to  reform  the  continent,  and 
spread  scriptural  holiness  through  these  lands ; 
and  we  accordingly  looked  to  be  endued,  in 
due  time,  with  all  the  panoply  of  God.  We, 
therefore,  according  to  the  best  of  our  know- 
ledge, received  and  followed  the  advice  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  as  stated  in  our  form  of  Disci- 
pline. 

After  Mr.  Wesley's  letter,  declaring  his  ap- 
pointment of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  joint 
superintendents  over  the  Methodists  in  Ame- 
rica, had  been  read,  analyzed,  and  cordially 
5* 


106  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

approved  by  the  conference,  the  question 
arose,  "  What  name  or  title  shall  we  take  ?" 
I  thought  to  myself,  I  shall  be  satisfied  that 
we  be  denominated,  The  Methodist  Church, 
and  so  whispered  to  a  brother  sitting  near  me. 
But  one  proposed,  I  think  it  was  John  Dick- 
ens, that  we  should  adopt  the  title  of  METHOD- 
IST EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  Mr.  Dickens  was, 
in  the  estimation  of  his  brethren,  a  man  of 
sound  sense  and  sterling  piety ;  and  there 
were  few  men  on  the  conference  floor  heard 
with  greater  deference  than  he.  Most  of  the 
preachers  had  been  brought  up  in  what  was 
called,  "  The  Church  of  England ;"  and,  all 
agreeing  that  the  plan  of  general  superintend- 
ence, which  had  been  adopted,  was  a  species 
of  episcopacy,  the  motion  on  Mr.  Dickens' 
suggestion  was  carried  without,  I  think,  a 
dissenting  voice.  There  was  not,  to  my  re- 
collection, the  least  agitation  on  the  question. 
Had  the  conference  indulged  a  suspicion  that 
the  name  they  adopted  would  be,  in  the  least 
degree,  offensive  to  the  views  or  feelings  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  they  would  have  abandoned  it  at 
once ;  for  the.  name  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  inex- 
pressibly dear  to  the  Christmas  conference, 
and  especially  to  Mr.  Asbury  and  Dr.  Coke. 

After   our  organization,  we   proceeded  to 
elect  a  sufficient  number  of  elders  to  visit  the 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  107 

quarterly  meetings,  and  administer  the  ordi- 
nances ;  and  this  it  was  which  gave  rise  to 
the  office  of  presiding  elders  among  us. 

From  what  I  have  said,  it  will  be  under- 
stood that,  when  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  organized,  I  was  present.  But, 
as  I  was  little  more  than  a  spectator  of  the 
interesting  transactions  of  the  Christmas  con- 
ference, I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  speak  of 
the  character  of  the  preachers  who  consti- 
tuted that  body,  as  if  not  numbered  among 
them. 

In  practical  wisdom  they  appeared  to  me  to 
excel ;  and,  although  few  of  them  affected 
the  scholar,  yet  they  prized  learning  as  a  de- 
sirable accomplishment.  Some  of  them  were 
acquainted  with  the  learned  languages ;  and 
most  of  them  were  riot  deficient  in  general 
and  polite  literature.  But  what  eminently 
distinguished  them  as  a  body  of  Christian 
ministers  was,  that  they  possessed,  in  a  high 
degree,  the  happy  art  of  winning  souls.  In 
preaching  and  in  debate  they  were  workmen 
who  needed  not  to  be  ashamed ;  and  they 
made  wise  and  useful  improvement  of  the 
knowledge  they  possessed,  and  the  talents 
God  had  given  them.  Hence  the  high  esti- 
mation in  which  they  held  the  Bible.  Many 
of  them  were  in  the  habit  of  reading  it  regu- 


108  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

larly  on  their  knees ;  and  some  made  it  a 
point  to  read  it  once  through  every  year  in 
that  attitude.  We  may,  therefore,  venture 
to  say,  that  few  men,  in  any  age  of  the 
church,  knew  better  how  to  estimate  the  sum 
of  good  which  Heaven  kindly  wills  to  man, 
and  few  have  been  so  successful  in  recom- 
mending the  Bible  and  Bible  religion  to  their 
fellow-men. 

Dr.  Coke,  on  his  way  to  the  Christmas  con- 
ference, passed  through  our  circuit.  I  met 
him  at  Colonel  Hopper's,  in  Queen  Anne's 
county,  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  At 
first,  I  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  his  appear- 
ance. His  stature,  complexion,  and  voice,  re- 
sembled those  of  a  woman  rather  than  those  of 
a  man ;  and  his  manners  were  too  courtly  for 
me.  So  unlike  was  he  to  the  grave,  and,  as  I 
conceived,  apostolic  Mr.  Asbury,  that  his  ap- 
pearance did  not  prepossess  me  favourably. 
He  had  several  appointments  in  the  circuit,  to 
which  I  conducted  him  ;  and,  before  we  part- 
ed, I  saw  so  many  things  to  admire  in  him 
that  I  no  longer  marvelled  at  his  being  select- 
ed by  Mr.  Wesley  to  serve  us  in  the  capaci- 
ty of  a  superintendent.  In  public,  he  was 
generally  admired;  and,  in  private,  he  was 
very  communicative  and  edifying. 

At  one  time,  in  a  large  circle,  he  expressed 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  109 

himself  in  substance  as  follows : — "  I  am 
charmed  by  the  spirit  of  my  American  bre- 
thren. Their  love  to  Mr.  Wesley  is  not  sur- 
passed by  that  of  their  brethren  in  Europe. 
It  is  founded  on  the  excellence — the  divinity 
— of  the  religion  which  he  has  been  the  in- 
strument of  reviving,  and  which  has  shed  its 
benign  influence  on  this  land  of  freedom.  I 
see  in  both  preachers  and  people  a  resolution 
to  venture  on  any  bold  act  of  duty,  when 
called  to  practise  piety  before  the  ungodly, 
and  to  refuse  compliance  with  fashionable 
vice.  I  see,"  continued  he,  with  a  counte- 
nance glowing  with  delight,  "  a  great  and 
effectual  door  opened  for  the  promulgation  of 
Methodism  in  America,  whose  institutions  "I 
greatly  admire,  and  whose  prosperity  I  no  less 
wish  than  I  do  that  of  the  land  which  gave  me 
birth.  In  the  presence  of  brother  Asbury  I  feel 
myself  a  child.  He  is,  in  my  estimation,  the 
most  apostolic  man  I  ever  saw,  except  Mr. 
Wesley." 

These  remarks  of  Dr.  Coke  made  an  im- 
pression on  my  mind  not  soon  to  be  forgotten. 
He  was  the  best  speaker  in  a  private  circle  or 
on  the  conference  floor  I  ever  heard.  But  his 
voice  was  too  weak  to  command  with  ease  a 
very  large  audience.  Yet  this  he  could 
sometimes  do  ;  and,  when  he  succeeded  in  it, 


110  MEMOIR  OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

his  preaching  was  very  impressive.  Some  of 
the  first  scholars  in  the  country  have  been 
heard  to  say,  that  Dr.  Coke  spoke  the  purest 
English  of  any  man  they  ever  heard.  His 
fine  classical  taste  did  not  raise  him,  in  his 
own  estimation,  above  the  weakest  of  his 
brethren.  To  them  he  paid  the  kindest  at- 
tentions ;  and  the  most  diffident  and  retiring 
among  them,  after  being  a  short  time  in  his 
company,  were  not  only  perfectly  at  ease,  but 
happy  at  finding  themselves  associated  with  a 
brother  who  had  learned  to  esteem  others 
better  than  himself. 

In  reflecting  upon  the  condition  of  the  Me- 
thodist societies  in  America  before  the  Christ- 
mas conference,  I  can  only  wonder  at  the  pri- 
vations to  which  they  submitted  for  so  long  a 
time,  out  of  reverence  for  Mr.  Wesley.  He 
had  said  he  would  never  forsake  the  Church 
in  which  he  was  brought  up  ;  and  the  Method- 
ists felt  for  him  a  tie  of  affection  stronger  than 
the  ties  of  blood.  Hence  they  continued  to 
suffer  on,  hoping  for  relief  when  the  war 
should  terminate. 

The  struggle,  however,  continued  so  long 
that  there  is  reason  to  believe,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  influence  of  Mr.  Asbury,  the  so- 
cieties in  America  would  have  assumed  the 
character  of  an  independent  church,  and  had 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  Ill 

the  ordinances  of  God  duly  administered  to 
them.  To  men  of  thought  it  seemed  unrea- 
sonable and  unchristianlike  that  preachers 
who  had  grown  gray  in  preaching  the  word, 
and  succeeded  in  gathering  a  numerous  peo- 
ple to  the  Lord,  should  refrain  from  adminis- 
tering to  them  the  ordinances.  Nor  was  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Asbury,  great  as  it  was, 
sufficient  to  restrain  the  societies  and  keep 
them  in  that  condition  much  longer.  This  I 
learned  the  first  conference  I  attended. 

I  would  not  insinuate  that,  in  this  serious 
business,  Mr.  Asbury  exerted  any  undue  in- 
fluence, or  misapplied  his  talents.  It  was 
best,  probably,  that  the  Methodists  in  this 
country  should  remain  as  they  were,  until 
Mr.  Wesley  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  exercise 
the  right,  which  he  unquestionably  had,  to 
ordain  preachers  for  them.  Neither  Mr. 
Asbury,  nor  any  of  his  coadjutors,  believed 
in  the  divine,  exclusive  rights  of  prelacy,  any 
more  than  they  believed  in  transubstantiation ; 
but  they  did  believe  that  a  divine  interposi- 
tion was  manifest  in  the  rise  and  spread  of 
Methodism,  and  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  an  ex- 
traordinary man,  who  was  the  chief  instru- 
ment in  the  hand  of  God  in  this  work.  They 
therefore  looked  up  to  him  with  deference 
and  respect,  and  cherished  a  fond  hope  that, 


112  MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

by  Iris  counsel  and  instruction,  means  would 
be  devised  to  invest  them  with  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  church,  in  a  way  to  continue  the 
Methodists  in  both  countries  one  family.  This 
they  now  realized,  much  to  their  satisfaction. 

I  have  said  the  preachers  who  composed 
the  Christmas  conference  did  hold  human 
learning  to  be  a  desirable  accomplishment. 
They  knew,  indeed,  that  learning  and  piety 
had  no  necessary  connection,  from  the  fact  that 
there  have  been  some  eminent  scholars,  whose 
lives  have  evinced  that  they  were  far  from 
being  pious,  and  there  have  been  many  pious 
souls  who  have  made  no  pretensions  to  hu- 
man learning.  Yet,  when  learning  and  piety 
are  united,  they  are  mutually  beneficial  in 
promoting  the  best  interests  of  man.  Such 
views  prevailed  among  the  preachers  at  that 
early  period  of  our  history.  In  proof  of  this, 
it  may  be  sufficient  to  mention  that,  at  the 
Christmas  conference,  they  passed  a  resolu- 
tion forthwith  to  erect  a  college,  or  public 
school,  and  to  publish  a  plan  of  it  immediate- 
ly after  the  conference  should  adjourn. 

The  design  was,  to  board  and  educate, 
and,  if  the  finances  would  permit,  clothe  the 
sons  of  the  travelling  preachers,  and  poor  or- 
phans ;  and  to  provide  a  seminary,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  church,  for  the  education  of 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  113 

the  children  of  our  friends,  where  religion 
and  learning-  might  go  hand  in  hand — where 
the  means  of  instruction  might  be  enjoyed 
by  the  young,  without  endangering  their 
moral  and  religious  principles  through  expo- 
sure to  those  temptations  which  were  too 
common  at  most  public  schools.  They  also 
contemplated  the  benefit  of  those  who  might 
give  evidence  of  being  called  to  preach  the 
gospel,  but  be  so  destitute  of  literary  qualifi- 
cations as  to  need  some  aid  in  this  respect,, 
before  entering  wholly  into  the  work.  In 
conformity  with  this  resolution,  a  college  was 
shortly  after  erected  at  Abingdon,  Maryland ; 
but  it  was  soon  after  burned  down.  This  was 
supposed  to  be  the  work  of  an  incendiary. 
But  so  intent  were  the  Methodists  upon  hav- 
ing a  public  school,  that  a  suitable  house  was 
soon  after  purchased  for  that  purpose  in  Bal- 
timore. This  also  was,  in  a  little  time,  wrap- 
ped in  flames  and  destroyed !  I  could  not 
believe,  as  some  did,  that  these  occurrences 
were  judicial  visitations.  They  were  pro- 
duced by  incendiaries,  and  not  the  work  of 
the  beneficent  Parent  of  the  human  family. 
And  yet  we  trace  the  providence  of  God  in 
them.  He  suffered  wicked  men  to  do  us 
wrong,  and  we  were  enabled  to  trust  in  him, 
and  throw  ourselves  upon  the  veracity  of  his 


114  MEMOIR  0V  REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

word,  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  him.  But  we  would  not 
indulge  the  impious  thought,  that  bad  men 
were  impelled  by  him  to  burn  our  literary 
institutions,  because  he  did  not  deem  it  proper, 
by  a  miracle,  to  protect  us,  as  he  protected 
Abraham  and  his  family,  when,  small  and  few 
as  we  were,  they  sojourned  among  strangers 
ard  enemies. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

From  the  Christmas  conference  Mr.  Ware  returns  to  the 
peninsula — Dr.  Coke  visits  that  section — Multitudes  flock  to 
hear  the  word,  receive  the  sacrament,  and  get  their  children 
baptized — Mr.  Ware's  lahours  interrupted  by  sickness — He 
partially  recovers  and  resolves  to  return  home — Is  induced  to 
change  his  course  by  an  extraordinary  manifestation  of*  di- 
vine influence  at  a  meeting  he  attended,  just  about  the  time  he 
had  made  arrangements  to  leave — Has  a  second  attack — Did 
not  attend  conference,  and  wrote  to  be  discontinued  for  at  least 
one  year — Was,  however,  continued,  and  appointed  to  Salem 
circuit — Had  to  contend  with  error — Saw  many  of  his  relatives 
brought  into  the  church — Account  of  the  introduction  of  Me- 
thodism into  this  section — Anecdote  of  Capt.  Sears — Prosperi- 
ty of  the  work — Reflections  on  the  benefits  of  having  the  ordi- 
nances— Extension  of  the  work — Mr.  Ware  is  sent  to  Long 
Island,  N.  Y. — Crosses  over  on  the  main  shore  and  visits  New- 
Rochelle,  Bedford,  and  Peekskill — Detained  at  a  public  house 
—His  detention  proves  a  blessing  to  the  landlord  and  his  wife. 

FROM  the  Christmas  conference  I  returned 
to  the  peninsula,  in  every  part  of  which  Me- 
thodism was  flourishing,  and  the  work  of  the 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  115 

Lord  gloriously  prospering  in  our  hands.  The 
administration  of  the  ordinances  at  our  quar- 
terly meetings  was  singularly  owned  of  God. 
Vast  multitudes  attended,  and  the  power  of 
the  Lord  was  present  to  wound  and  to  heal. 
The  whole  peninsula  seemed  moved ;  and  the 
people,  in  multitudes,  flocked  to  hear  Dr. 
Coke,  who  returned  with  us,  and  spent  some 
time  on  this  favoured  shore.  Never  did  I 
see  any  person  who  seemed  to  enjoy  himself 
better  than  he  did,  while  thousands  pressed 
to  him  to  have  their  children  dedicated  to  the 
Lord  by  baptism,  and  to  receive  themselves 
the  holy  supper  at  his  hands.  Daily  acces 
sions  were  made  to  the  church. 

For  a  time  I  enjoyed  myself  well  in  this 
work.  I  preached  with  greater  ease  than 
formerly,  for  the  hearts  of  the  people  seemed 
to  be  open  to  receive  the  word;  and  our 
class-meetings  were  little  bethels  to  us.  But 
I  was  suddenly  attacked  with  a  kidney  com- 
plaint, that  brought  me  near  the  door  of  death. 

My  sufferings  were  most  excruciating.  After 
the  first  paroxysm  was  over,  doubts  in  swift 
succession  arose  in  my  mind  with  respect  to 
my  call  to  the  ministry ;  and,  being  informed 
that  my  spiritual  father,  the  respected  Pedi- 
cord,  was  dead,  I  felt  a  wish,  if  it  were  the 
will  of  God,  that  I  might  follow  him. 


1  16  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

After  passing  through  many  sore  conflicts 
relative  to  my  duty  with  respect  to  preaching, 
I  yielded  to  a  belief  that  I  might  safely  aban- 
don for  the  present  an  itinerant  life,  if  not  the 
ministry.  Under  these  impressions  I  went  on 
to  an  appointment  where  few  usually  attend- 
ed, with  an  intention,  if  the  people  came  out, 
to  give  them  a  word  of  exhortation ;  and  then 
write  to  the  conference,  which  was  soon  to 
hold  its  session,  not  to  depend  on  me  to  fill  an 
appointment  for  at  least  one  year,  and  direct 
my  course  toward  home. 

When  I  came  in  sight  of  the  place  I  saw  a 
number  of  carriages,  and  a  large  concourse  of 
people  collected ;  and  I  trembled  at  the  sight. 
My  watch  told  me  it  was  past  the  time  to 
commence,  and  I  was  entirely  unprepared  to 
meet  the  congregation.  In  this  condition  I 
said  to  myself,  "What  shall  I  do? — I  must 
commence."  I  finally  determined  that  I  would 
read  the  chapter  on  which  I  first  opened  my 
Testament,  and  select  a  passage  from  it ;  and, 
if  I  were  confounded  before  the  people,  I 
would  confess  I  had  been  mistaken  in  my  call. 

The  chapter  on  which  I  opened  was  the  six- 
teenth of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  This  read, 
I  selected  for  a  text  the  latter  clause  of  the 
30th  verse,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 
After  announcing  these  words  I  proceeded  in 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE.  11? 

the  following  strain : — "  Since  the  world  began 
there  was  never  a  proposition  by  man  to  man 
of  greater  import  than  that  which  the  Philip- 
pian  jailer  made  to  Paul  and  Silas  in  the  words 
of  our  text.  He  was  doubtless  a  sinner,  and 
saw  himself  in  danger ;  and  he  feared — fear- 
ed what?  Not  temporal,  but  eternal,  death! 
He  believed  that  something  must  be  done  to 
escape  it,  and  that  the  apostles  could  tell  him 
what  to  do. 

"  There  is,  we  presume  to  say,  in  all  men, 
at  times,  a  conviction  that  they  are  in  danger 
of  eternal  destruction,  that  something  must  be 
done  to  ensure  their  salvation,  and  that  the  mi- 
nisters of  the  gospel  can  tell  them  what  that 
something  is.  But  alas!  for  you  who  are 
here  to-day  (pardon  my  tears  !*)  I  feel  incom- 
petent to  answer  the  anxious  inquiry  which  I 
perceive  many  are  disposed  to  make  about 
their  salvation.  Incompetent  did  I  say?  For- 
give me !  I  will  recall  it.  I  do  know  what 
you  may  do — what  you  must  do — what  I 
begin  to  think,  blessed  be  God,  some  of  you 
will  do — to  be  saved — will  do  and  be  saved, 
this  very  day.  True,  I  cannot  answer  this 
inquiry  in  the  style  and  manner  I  could  wish. 
But  is  this  a  just  cause  for  tears?  No,  I  will 
dry  them  up,  and  press  you  with  all  my  soul 

*  These  now  began  to  flow  freely. 


118  MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE. 

to  believe  on  the  JLord  Jesus  Christ,  that  you 
may  be  saved.  If  Paul  himself  were  here, 
he  would  do  the  same." 

This  simple  address  was  owned  of  God  in 
deeply  affecting  the  hearers.  Tears  flowed 
plentifully  from  the  eyes  of  many ;  and  all  in 
the  congregation  were  greatly  moved.  What 
a  sudden  transition !  When  I  stood  up,  a  gloom 
like  the  darkness  of  midnight  rested  upon  me. 
Now  not  a  vestige  of  a  cloud  remained.  I 
continued  by  remarking  : — 

"  Our  text  is  the  language  of  a  true  peni- 
tent. All  such  are  concerned  to  know  what 
they  must  do  to  be  saved, 

1.  From  ignorance  and  error  in  religion  ; 

2.  From  the  tyranny  of  sin ; 

3.  From  the  curse  of  God's  violated  law  ; 

4.  From  the  damnation  of  hell." 

To  all  which  I  replied  by  directing  the 
humble  penitent  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  is,  to  venture  on  him  for  wisdom, 
strength,  absolution,  and  purity  of  heart  and 
life.  When  I  was  done,  many  desired  the 
privilege  of  being  present  in  the  class-meet- 
ing, which  was  granted;  and  most  of  those 
who  remained  united  with  the  church  on  pro- 
bation. 

I  now  went  on  cheerfully  for  a  time.  But 
it  was  not  long  before  I  was  attacked  by  my 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  119 

old  complaint ;  and  as  my  physician  did  not 
understand  it,  and  doctored  me  for  another,  I 
was  again,  to  appearance,  brought  near  the 
gate  of  death.  An  elderly  gentleman,  how- 
ever, providentially  fell  in  where  I  was,  and 
after  some  inquiry,  informed  me  of  the  nature 
and  seat  of  my  disease.  He  recommended 
the  free  use  of  parsley  (apium)  tea,  which  I 
drank  freely,  and  in  about  twelve  hours  it  gave 
me  signal  relief. 

In  the  spring  of  1785,  I  did  not  attend  the 
conference,  but  went  home,  and  wrote  to  Mr. 
Asbury,  declining  to  take  an  appointment  for 
at  least  one  year,  on  account  of  loss  of  health. 
I  was,  however,  appointed  to  Salem  circuit, 
with  William  Phoebus  and  Robert  Sparks.* 

Here  we  had  to  contend  with  high-toned 
Calvinism  on  one  hand,  and  mysticism  on  the 
other.  But  the  Lord  gave  us  some  fruit  of 
our  labours,  and  many  cheering  hopes  that 
the  moral  waste  we  were  traversing  by  long 
and  dreary  rides  would  one  day  bud  and  blos- 
som as  the  rose. 

While  on  this  circuit  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  many  of  my  near  relatives  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  received  into  the 
church.  Among  these  were  my  eldest  and 

*  The  territory  contained  in  this  circuit  is  now  occupied  by 
more  than  half  a  score  of  preachers. 


120  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

youngest  sisters.  The  latter  was  from  a  child 
admired  for  the  good  natural  qualities  of  her 
mind,  and  for  her  amiable  disposition.  In  her, 
grace  shone  with  peculiar  brilliancy.  She 
was  eminently  gifted  in  prayer,  so  much  so 
that  many  of  the  preachers  remarked  they 
had  seldom  known  her  equal.  Her  husband 
was  also  an  amiable  and  interesting  man.  It 
was  through  her  influence  that  he  was  brought 
to  embrace  religion ;  and  their  house  was  long 
a  pleasant  home  for  the  preachers.* 

^  This  amiable  man,  being  in  feeble  health,  was  advised  by 
his  physician  to  take  new  milk  and  sugar  in  a  little  brandy. 
By  following  this  prescription  he  contracted  a  love  for  strong 
drink,  and  lost  not  only  his  religious  enjoyment  and  character, 
but  also  his  property  and  his  little  remaining  health.  He  was 
greatly  pitied,  and  the  fullest  confidence  was  placed  in  his  inte- 
grity to  the  last ;  and  there  was  some  hope  in  his  death.  He 
was  ardently  attached  to  his  pious  wife ;  and  in  his  last  hours 
he  could  not  bear  her  out  of  his  sight  a  moment,  but  listened 
with  deep  interest  to  her  encouraging  assurances  that  God 
would  receive  the  returning  penitent,  and  was  melted  to  tears 
while  she  offered  up  her  ardent  prayers  in  his  behalf. 

Ah,  my  sister,  how  often  have  I  mingled  my  tears  with  thine, 
on  account  of  this  once  amiable  man,  ensnared  and  overcome 
by  the  foul  destroyer !  He  was  lost  to  thee  and  to  thy  little 
ones,  but,  we  trust,  not  eternally  lost !  Thou,  my  best  beloved 
sister,  hast  ceased  to  weep  and  to  suffer.  Thou  art  for  ever  at 
rest;  and  thy  children,  the  objects  of  thy  tenderest  solicitude 
when  thou  wast  about  to  leave  them  orphans,  have  been  pro- 
vided for  by  Him  who  feeds  the  ravens,  and,  with  one  exception, 
are  following  thee  in  wisdom's  ways ;  and  that  one,  we  hope, 
will  be  given  thee  in  answer  to  a  pious  mother's  prayers,  long 
since  registered  on  high ! 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  121 

This  excellent  woman  was  not  only  my 
natural  sister,  but  my  spiritual  child.  After  I 
knew  the  blessedness  of  believing,  I  travelled 
sixty  miles  to  see  her  and  tell  her  what  the 
Lord  had  done  for  me.  During  our  first  inter- 
view she  became  convinced  of  the  necessity 
of  religion ;  and  she  never  after  rested  until 
she  was  brought  to  enjoy  it. 

Methodism  had  found  its  way.  into  this  sec- 
tion before  us.  The  war  which  had  just  ter- 
minated had  raged  mostly  in  the  upper  part  of 
New- Jersey ;  but  here  its  effects  were  less  sen- 
sibly felt.  Many  parts  of  Cumberland  and 
Cape  May  were  but  thinly  inhabited ;  and  the 
inhabitants  were  generally  favourable  to  the 
cause  of  the  revolution.  When  the  state  of 
things  in  West  Jersey,  in  consequence  of  its 
becoming  the  seat  of  war,  rendered  it  next 
to  impossible  for  the  preachers  to  labour 
longer  there,  they  turned  their  attention  to  the 
west;  and  one  of  them  visited  Cumberland 
and  Cape  May.*  His  manner  was,  to  let  his 
horse  take  his  own  course,  and,  on  coming  to  a 
house,  to  inform  the  family  that  he  had  come  to 
warn  them  and  the  people  of  their  neighbour- 
hood to  prepare  to  meet  their  God  ;  and  also 
to  direct  them  to  notify  their  neighbours  that 

*  We  learn  from  Mr.  Ware  that  the  name  of  this  preacher 
was  James. — EDITOR. 

6 


122  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

on  such  a  day  one  would,  by  divine  permis- 
sion, be  there  to  deliver  a  message  from  God 
to  them,  noting  his  appointment  in  a  book 
kept  for  that  purpose  ;  and  then,  if  he  found 
they  were  not  offended,  to  sing  and  pray  with 
them,  and  depart.  Some  families  were  much 
affected,  and  seemed  to  hold  themselves  bound 
to  do  as  he  directed.  Others  told  him  he  need 
give  himself  no  farther  trouble,  for  they  would 
neither  invite  their  neighbours,  nor  open  their 
doors  to  receive  him  if  he  came. 

This  course  soon  occasioned  an  excitement 
and  alarm  through  many  parts.  Some  seem- 
ed to  think  him  a  messenger  from  the  invisi- 
ble world.  Others  said,  "  He  is  mad."  Many, 
however,  gave  out  the  appointments  as  direct- 
ed; and  when  the  time  came,  he  would  be 
sure  to  be  there.  By  these  means  the  minds 
of  the  people  were  stirred  up,  and  many  were 
awakened.  While  thus  labouring  to  sow  the 
seed  of  the  gospel,  he  came  one  evening  to 
the  house  of  Captain  Sears,  and  having  a  de- 
sire to  put  up  for  the  night,  made  application 
to  the  captain  accordingly.  Captain  S.  was 
then  in  the  yard,  surrounded  by  a  number  of 
barking  dogs,  which  kept  up  such  a  noise 
that  he  could  not  at  first  hear  what  the  preach- 
er said.  At  this,  the  captain  became  very 
angry,  and  stormed  boisterously  at  them,  call- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  123 

ing  them  many  hard  names,  for  which  the 
preacher  reproved  him.  When  they  became 
silent  so  that  he  could  be  distinctly  heard,  he 
renewed  his  request  to  stay  over  night.  The 
captain  paused  a  long  time,  looking  steadily 
at  him,  and  then  said,  "  I  hate  to  let  you  stay 
the  worst  of  any  man  I  ever  saw ;  but  as  I 
never  refused  a  stranger  a  night's  lodging  in 
all  my  life,  you  may  alight." 

Soon  after  entering  the  house,  he  requested 
a  private  room  where  he  might  retire.  The 
family  were  curious  to  know  for  what  purpose 
he  retired,  and  contrived  to  ascertain,  when  it 
was  found  that  he  was  on  his  knees.  After 
continuing  a  long  time  in  secret  devotion,  he 
came  into  the  parlour  and  found  supper  pre- 
pared. Captain  Sears  seated  himself  at  table, 
and  invited  his  guest  to  come  and  partake  with 
him.  He  came  to  the  table,  and  said,  "  With 
your  permission,  captain,  I  will  ask  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  our  food  before  we  partake ;" 
to  which  the  captain  assented. 

During  the  evening  the  preacher  had  occa- 
sion to  reprove  his  host  several  times.  In  a 
few  days  the  captain  attended  a  military 
parade ;  and  his  men,  having  heard  that  the 
man  who  had  made  so  much  noise  in  the 
country  had  spent  a  night  with  him,  inquired 
of  him  what  he  thought  of  this  singular  per- 


124  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

son.  "  Do  you  ask  what  I  think  of  the  stran- 
ger?" said  he,  "I  know  he  is  a  man  of  God." 
"  Pray  how  do  you  know  that,  captain  ?"  in- 
quired some.  "How  do  I  know  it?"  he  replied. 
"  I  will  tell  you  honestly — the  devil  trembled 
in  me  at  his  reproofs."  And  so  it  was.  The  evil 
spirit  found  no  place  to  remain  in  his  heart. * 
By  such  means  the  work  was  commenced  in 
this  region,  and  spread  among  the  people. 

The  year  1785  passed  away  much  more 
pleasantly  than  I  expected.  My  health  was 
much  improved ;  and  the  gloom  of  mind  which 
had  nearly  driven  me  from  the  itinerant  ranks 
now  seldom  troubled  me.  The  presiding 
elder  appointed  to  attend  the  quarterly  meet- 
ings in  Jersey  was  an  exceedingly  popular 
man,  and  his  presence  gave  a  consequence  to 
these  meetings  which  left  no  doubt  on  our 
minds  of  the  advantage  of  having  men  in  holy 
orders  among  us;  and  we  praised  God  for 
the  providence  which  had  brought  about  this 
new  order  of  things,  and  established  us  as  a 
branch  of  his  militant  church.  Two  years 
had  now  elapsed  since  the  organization  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America, 

*  I  have  spent  many  a  comfortable  night  under  the  hospitable 
roof  of  Captain  Sears.  He  lived  long  an  example  of  piety — the 
stranger's  host  and  comforter,  and  especially  the  preacher's 
friend. 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE.  125 

during  which  time  our  harmony  continued  the 
same  as  it  was  before,  while  our  labour  had 
been  crowned  with  much  greater  success,  in 
consequence  of  having  had  the  ordinances  of 
God  duly  administered  among  us.  In  these 
two  years  we  admitted  thirty-four  preachers, 
and  had  an  accession  of  three  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  three  members.  We  also  greatly 
enlarged  our  borders,  extending  our  labours 
to  Georgia  at  the  south,  and  the  great  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  at  the  west. 

In  1786  my  field  of  labour  was  Long  Island, 
in  the  state  of  New- York.  But  I  did  not 
confine  myself  to  the  Island.  With  the  con- 
sent of  rny  presiding  elder,  a  local  brother 
was  employed  to  take  my  appointments,  and 
I  visited  New-Rochelle,  across  the  sound, 
twenty-five  miles  above  New- York.  A  class 
had  been  formed  in  this  place  previously  to 
the  taking  of  New- York  by  the  British.  But 
at  this  time  there  was  not  a  Methodist  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Hudson,  above  New- York. 

From  New-Rochelle  I  went  up  to  Bedford 
and  Peekskill.  In  every  place  where  I  went 
the  people  flocked  to  hear  the  word ;  and  I 
was  treated,  generally,  with  great  kindness. 
At  Croton,  Lieut.  Governor  Van  Courtland  and 
lady  took  me  to  their  house,  and  charmed  me 
with  their  Christian  courtesy  and  hospitality. 


126  MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

At  Bedford,  on  Christmas  day,  I  dwelt 
largely  on  the  universality  of  the  atonement, 
with  which  subject  I  felt  deeply  affected  my- 
self, as  the  people  also  appeared  to  be.  When 
I  was  through,  a  Calvinist  minister  stood  up 
in  the  congregation  and  accused  me  of  preach- 
ing false  doctrine.  The  sum  of  his  argument 
was,  "  If  Christ  died  for  all,  then  must  all  be 
saved ;  but  we  know  some  are  lost,  therefore 
he  did  not  die  for  all."  It  was  an  unfortunate 
time  for  him  to  attack  the  doctrine  in  the 
manner  he  did,  as  the  feelings  of  the  people 
were  evidently  enlisted  in  favour  of  it  while  I 
was  endeavouring  to  illustrate  and  enforce  it 
with  tears.  They  were  therefore  on  my  side. 
-Before  the  minister  sat  down,  he  requested 
the  people  not  to  let  any  thing  he  had  said  so 
prejudice  their  minds  against  the  young  man 
as  to  call  in  question  his  piety.  Here  he  was 
interrupted  by  an  elderly  man,  who  arose  and 

said,  "  I  am  surprised,  Mr.  H s,  that  you 

have  so  little  discernment.  What  you  have 
said,  instead  of  exciting  our  prejudice  against 
our  young  friend,  who  has  preached  the  truth  to 
us,  has,  on  the  contrary,  filled  us  with  disgust 
against  yourself.  There  is  not  a  person  pre- 
sent but  must  condemn  your  spirit ;  and  very 
few,  I  hope,  who  do  not  despise  the  sentiments 
you  have  advanced.  If  there  be  one  here 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  127 

who  approves  of  the  rude  attack  you  have 
made  upon  this  youth  and  stranger  among  us, 
let  him  get  up  and  defend  you."  At  this  sharp 
rebuke,  Mr.  H.  arose  to  defend  himself;  but 
the  people  manifested  their  unwillingness  to 
hear  him,  by  rising  up  and  beginning  to  talk. 
A  Mr.  Eames  then,  in  the  audience  of  the 
people,  invited  me  to  go  with  him  and  make 
his  house  my  home  ;  and  to  preach  the  same 
doctrine  to  his  neighbours.  I  accepted  of  this 
kind  invitation,  and  went. 

When  we  arrived  at  Mr.  Eames'  house,  he 
introduced  me  to  his  wife  as  a  Methodist 
preacher,  and  said,  "You  know  I  told  you 
God  would  send  the  Methodist  preachers 
among  us,  when  I  dreamed  that  I  saw  Mr. 
We,sley  riding  through  the  country  with  his 
Bible  open  in  his  hand."  After  spending  a 
short  time  with  this  pious  and  interesting 
family,  during  which  I  preached  repeatedly 
and  formed  a  class,  I  set  out  on  my  return  to 
New-Rochelle,  but  was  overtaken  by  one  of 
the  most  dreadful  snow-storms  I  ever  wit- 
nessed. I  was  accordingly  driven  to  the 
necessity  of  putting  up  at  an  inn,  where  I  was 
detained  for  a  week.  The  landlady  was  ten- 
derly impressed  the  first  time  I  spoke  to  her 
on  the  subject  of  religion ;  but  the  inn-keeper 
himself,  though  civil,  appeared  to  be  out  of 


128  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

my  reach.  Both  of  them  were  very  fond  of 
singing ;  and  as  my  voice  was  good,  they 
seemed  much  delighted  with  some  spiritual 
songs  which  I  sung  for  them.  On  the  third 
night  of  this  tremendous  storm,  while  sitting 
around  the  cheerful  fire,  listening  to  the  howl- 
ing of  the  wind,  and  the  beating  of  snow  and 
hail  against  the  windows,  as  if  resolved  on  a 
forcible  entry,  I  perceived  my  host  and  hostess 
were  pensive  ;  so  I  sung  them  one  of  my  fa- 
vourite pieces,  with  which  they  were  much 
affected.  I  then  kneeled  down  to  pray  ;  and 
they,  for  the  first  time,  fell  upon  their  knees. 
After  prayer,  I  retired,  leaving  them  both  in 
tears.  He  afterward,  during  my  stay,  made 
many  efforts  to  resume  his  former  gayety ;  but 
his  vivacity  was  gone.* 

*  After  thirty  years  I  was  again  appointed  to  Long  Island, 
where  my  host  visited  me.  On  meeting  me,  he  said,  "  Father 
Ware,  I  am  happy  to  see  you  once  more.  Have  you  forgotten 
the  snow-storm  which  brought  you  and  salvation  to  my  house  ?" 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  129 


CHAPTER  IX. 

In  1787  Dr.  Coke  again  visits  this  country — Gives  dissatis- 
faction to  some  of  the  preachers  by  changing  the  conference — 
Mr.  Whatcoat  accompanies  Dr.  Coke,  as  a  superintendent,  ap- 
pointed by  Mr,  Wesley — Some  uneasiness  about  the  manner  of 
doing  business  in  the  conference — Feelings  of  respect  enter- 
tained by  the  conference  for  Mr.  Wesley — Fear  that  Mr. 
Asbury  would  be  called  away — Brief  notices  of  deceased 
preachers — Mr.  Ware  volunteers  to  accompany  Mr.  Tunnell  to 
the  Holston  country — Character  and  state  of  the  country — 
Moral  condition — The  work  of  God  prospers  notwithstanding 
the  difficulties  it  has  to  contend  with — Call  for  preachers  down 
the  Holston — Mr.  Ware  agrees  to  go  and  form  a  new  circuit — 
His  way  infested  with  savages — Narrow  escapes — A  woman 
killed  by  the  Indians  near  where  he  was  preaching — Preaches 
her  funeral — The  people  favourably  affected — Crosses  over  to 
French  Broad — Finds  some  who  had  been  Methodists — Soon 
raises  a  society — Suffers  reproach  on  account  of  the  conduct  of 
wicked  men  who  called  themselves  preachers — Narrowly  es- 
capes from  a  company  of  infuriated  men  who  became  offended 
at  him — Arrives  at  a  friend's  house,  and  thanks  God  for  his 
deliverance. 

IN  the  spring  of  1787,  Dr.  Coke  visited  us 
again,  and  called  the  preachers  to  meet  in 
conference  at  Baltimore,  on  the  first  day  of 
May.  The  liberty  he  took  in  changing  the 
time  and  place  of  holding  the  conference  gave 
serious  offence  to  many  of  the  preachers.  But 
this  was  not  all,  nor  even  the  chief  matter, 
which  caused  some  trouble  at  this  conference. 
Mr.  Wesley  had  appointed  Mr.  Whatcoat  a 
superintendent,  and  instructed  Dr.  Coke  to 


130  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

introduce  a  usage  among  us  to  which,  I  may 
safely  say,  there  was  not  one  of  the  preachers 
inclined  to  submit,  much  as  they  loved  and 
honoured  him.  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  calling  his  preachers  together,  not  to 
legislate,  but  to  confer.  Many  of  them  he 
found  to  be  excellent  counsellors,  and  he  heard 
them  respectfully  on  the  weighty  matters 
which  were  brought  before  them;  but  the 
right  to  decide  all  questions  he  reserved  to 
himself.  1?his  he  deemed  the  more  excellent 
way  ;  and  as  we  had  volunteered  and  pledged 
ourselves  to  obey,  he  instructed  the  doctor, 
conformably  to  his  own  usage,  to  put  as  few 
questions  to  vote  as  possible,  saying,  "  If  you, 
brother  Asbury,  and  brother  Whatcoat  are 
agreed,  it  is  enough."  To  place  the  power  of 
deciding  all  questions  discussed,  or  nearly  all, 
in  the  hands  of  the  superintendents,  was  what 
could  never  be  introduced  among  us — a  fact 
which  we  thought  Mr.  Wesley  could  not  but 
have  known,  had  he  known  us  as  well  as  we 
ought  to  have  bfeen  known  by  Dr.  Coke.  After 
all,  we  had  none  to  blame  so  much  as  ourselves. 
In  the  first  effusion  of  our  zeal  we  had  adopted 
a  rule  binding  -ourselves  to  obey  Mr.  Wesley ; 
and  this  rule  must  be  rescinded,  or  we  must 
be  content,  not  only  to  receive  Mr.  Whatcoat 
as  one  of  our  superintendents,  but  also,  as  our 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  131 

brethren  of  the  British  conference,  with  barely 
discussing  subjects,  and  leaving  the  decision 
of  them  to  two  or  three  individuals.  This 
was  the  chief  cause  of  our  rescinding  the  rule. 
All,  however,  did  not  vote  to  rescind  it.  Some 
thought  it  would  be  time  enough  to  do  so  when 
our  superintendents  should  claim  to  decide 
questions  independently  of  the  conference, 
which,  it  was  confidently  believed,  they  never 
would  do. 

We  were  under  many  and  great  obligations 
to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  also  to  Dr.  Coke,  who 
had  done  much  to  serve  us,  and  all  at  their 
own  expense.  As  to  Mr.  Wesley,  there  were 
none  of  us  disposed  to  accuse  him  of  a  de- 
sire to  tyrannize  over  us,  and,  in  consequence, 
to  withdraw  our  love  and  confidence  from 
him.  But  there  was,  perhaps,  with  some,  a 
lack  of  cautiousness  not  to  cause  grief  to 
such  a  father.  There  were  also  suspicions 
entertained  by  some  of  the  preachers,  and, 
perhaps,  by  Mr.  Asbury  himself,  that,  if  Mr. 
Whatcoat  were  received  as  a  superintendent, 
Mr.  Asbury  would  be  recalled.  For  this  none 
of  us  were  prepared. 

At  the  conference  of  1787,  we  had  to  record 
the  death  of  two  young  men,  who  had  fallen 
in  the  itinerant  ranks,  namely,  John  Lambert 
and  James  Thomas.  The  former  was  a 


132  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

native  of  New- Jersey,  taken  from  the  common 
walks  of  life.  He  had,  in  four  years,  (when 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organ- 
ized,) without  the  parade  of  classical  learning, 
or  any  regular  theological  training,  actually 
attained  to  an  eminence  in  the  pulpit  which 
no  ordinary  man  could  reach  by  the  aid  of 
any  human  means  whatever.  He  was  most 
emphatically  a  primitive  Methodist  preacher, 
preaching  out  of  the  pulpit  as  well  as  in  it. 
The  graces  with  which  he  was  eminently 
adorned,  were  intelligence,  innocence,  and 
love.  These  imparted  a  glow  of  eloquence 
to  all  he  said  and  did.  The  other,  Thomas, 
was  young,  sprightly,  blameless,  and  much 
esteemed  as  a  pious  and  good  preacher. 

At  this  conference  I  volunteered,  with  two 
other  young  men,  who  esteemed  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  earthly  treasures, 
to  accompany  Mr.  Tunnell  to  the  Holston 
country,  now  called  East  Tennessee. 

The  district  of  country  where  we  laboured 
is  finely  watered  by  five  rivers,  the  principal 
of  which  is  the  Holston.  On  the  margin  of 
these  rivers  the  soil  is  deep  and  immensely 
rich.  Here,  of  course,  the  first  inhabitants 
fixed  their  dwellings.  We  found  the  popula- 
tion spread  over  a  territory  of  country  equal 
in  extent  to  East  Jersey,  almost  wholly  desti- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  133 

tute  of  the  gospel.  That  people  everywhere 
need  the  gospel,  no  Christain  would  deny. 
But  these,  especially,  needed  it.  In  almost 
all  new  settlements  there  are  always  some  to 
be  found,  whose  principles  and  practice  exert 
a  pestilential  influence  on  the  morals  of  soci- 
ety. In  this  section  there  were  many  of  this 
description — refugees  from  justice.  Some 
there  were  who  had  borrowed  money,  or  were 
otherwise  in  debt,  and  left  their  creditors  and 
securities  to  do  the  best  they  could.  Persons 
of  such  principles  cannot  be  expected  to  exert 
themselves  in  promoting  moral  order  in 
society.  But  there  were  others  whose  influ- 
ence was  much  more  pernicious,  especially 
against  the  introduction  and  progress  of  Me- 
thodism. These  were  such  as  had  been 
guilty  of  some  heinous  or  scandalous  crime, 
and  fled  from  justice.  Some  of  them  had 
left  their  wives,  and  were  living  with  other 
women.  Among  these  there  were  a  few  who 
had  made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  two  in 
particular  who  had  been  preachers.  In  their 
wickedness  they  retained  all  their  bigotry  in 
favour  of  their  opinions,  and  their  inveterate 
prejudices  against  the  Methodists  They  were 
among  our  most  violent  opposers.  They  la-, 
boured  hard,  and,  with  some  people  success- 
fully, to  brand  us  as  false  prophets,  because 


134  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

we  held  it  possible  for  men  to  fall  from  grace, 
and  that  infants  were  proper  subjects  of  bap- 
tism. One  of  them  said,  publicly,  that  he 
verily  believed  the  greatest  sin  he  ever  com- 
mitted in  his  life,  was  that  of  yielding  to  the 
desire  of  his  wife  to  have  their  first  child 
baptized. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  violent  opposition 
we  had  to  contend  with  from  these  and  other 
causes,  God  prospered  us  in  our  work.  Me- 
thodism had,  indeed,  reached  this  country 
before  us.  In  many  of  the  settlements  we 
found  some  who  had  heard  the  Methodists 
preach,  and  they  hailed'  us  with  a  hearty 
welcome.  Societies  were  formed,  and  a  num- 
ber of  log-chapels  erected  ;  and,  on  the  cir- 
cuit, three  hundred  members  were  received 
the  first  year. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year,  (1787,)  our  presiding 
elder  received  letters  from  persons  low  down 
the  Holston  and  French  Broad,  deploring 
their  entire  destitution  of  the  gospel,  and 
entreating  him,  if  possible,  to  send  them  a 
preacher.  These  letters  he  read  at  the  quar- 
terly meeting  conference ;  and  it  was  agreed 
that  I  should  go,  and  see  if  I  could  form  a 
Circuit  in  those  parts.  Accordingly  I  went. 
There  were  many  things  which  rendered 
itinerating  in  that  section  of  the  country,  at 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  135 

the  time  I  went,  peculiarly  painful  to  a  person 
like  myself.*  I  was  still  young  in  the  minis- 
try, and  deeply  sensible  of  my  want  of  quali- 
fications to  act  well  the  part  of  a  pioneer ;  but, 
having  pledged  myself  to  go,  and  having  evi- 
dence that  my  feeble  efforts  had  been  crowned 
with  some  success,  nothing  could  deter  me 
from  redeeming  my  pledge. 

The  winters  are  shorter  and  the  climate 
less  frigid  in  East  Tennessee  than  in  New- 
Jersey  ;  but  sometimes  the  cold,  for  a  few 
days,  is  intense.  At  these  times,  especially 
when  I  had  to  ford  rivers  and  creeks  at  the 
risk  of  life,  as  I  often  had  to  do,  and  to  lodge 
in  open  log-cabins,  with  light  bed-clothing,  and 
frequently  with  several  children  in  the  same 
bed,  I  was  much  exposed  to  taking  cold ;  and 
travelling  there,  on  these  accounts,  was  ren- 
dered exceedingly  crossing  to  nature.  But,  in 
addition  to  these,  much  of  the  time  my  path 
was  infested  with  savage  men,  the  deadly  foe 
of  white  men,  who  had  but  too  justly  incur- 
red their  resentment ;  and  more  subtle  and 
terrible  enemies,  among  human  beings,  could 
not  be  imagined,  than  were  the  native  red 
men,  incensed  at  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon 

*  I  have  always  considered  this  a  season  of  the  most  severe 
sufferings  I  have  passed  through,  in  an  itinerant  life  of  more 
than  forty  years. 


136  MEMOIR    OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

them  by  the  whites.  Several  families  and 
individuals  had  been  murdered  by  them  in 
places  directly  on  the  routes  I  had  to  travel ; 
and  once,  at  least,  I  narrowly  escaped  being 
murdered  or  taken  prisoner.  My  course  led 
through  a  fine  bottom  covered  chiefly  with  the 
crab-apple  tree.  I  passed  along  very  slowly, 
making  my  observations  upon  the  richness  of 
the  soil,  the  timber,  and  grass,  which,  at  that 
late  season,  was  yet  green,  and  had  thoughts 
of  halting  to  muse  a  little  in  the  grove ;  but, 
recollecting,  at  the  moment,  that  I  had  heard 
a  rumour  about  hostile  Indians  in  that  vicini- 
ty, I  concluded  not  to  stop,  but  rather  mend 
my  pace.  I  had  now  approached  a  lofty 
grove,  when,  suddenly,  my  horse  stopped, 
snorted,  and  wheeled  about.  As  he  wheeled 
I  caught  a  glimpse  of  an  Indian,  but  at  too 
great  a  distance  to  reach  me  with  his  rifle.  I 
gave  my  horse  the  reins,  and  hastened  to  the 
nearest  settlement  to  give  the  alarm.  I  had 
been  told  that  some  horses  were  singularly 
afraid  of  an  Indian.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I 
have  reason  to  suppose  that  the  sudden  fright 
which  mine  took  at  seeing  one,  was  the  means, 
under  God,  of  saving  me  from  death  or 

*  CD 

captivity. 

At  another  time,  while  I  was   preaching 
at  the  house  of  a  man  who  had  invited  us 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  137 

by  letter  to  visit  their  settlement,  we  were 
alarmed  with  the  cry  of  "  Indians !"  The 
terror  this  cry  excited  at  that  time  none  can 
imagine,  except  those  who  witnessed  it.  In- 
stantly every  man  flew  to  his  rifle,  and  sallied 
forth  to  ascertain  the  ground  of  the  alarm. 
On  coming  out,  we  saw  two  lads  running  with 
all  speed,  and  screaming,  "  The  Indians  have 
killed  mother!"  We  followed  them  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  witnessed  the  affect- 
ing scene  of  a  woman  weltering  in  her  blood. 
It  was  what  the  people  called  a  good  sugar 
day  ;  and  Mrs.  Carter,  a  brother's  wife  of  the 
man  at  whose  house  we  had  met,  chose  to  stay 
at  home  for  the  purpose  of  making  sugar 
rather  than  go  to  meeting,  though  it  was  in 
sight,  and  several  of  her  friends  had  endea- 
voured to  persuade  her  to  go  with  them. 

The  maple  grove,  or  sugar-bush,  was,  near 
their  dwelling,  skirted^on  the  side  next  the 
river  by  what  they  call  a  canebrake.  Here 
Mrs.  C.  sat  by  the  side  of  a  large  buck-eye 
tree,  which  had  fallen  down,  spinning  and 
watching  her  sugar,  while  her  sons  were 
gathering  wood.  They  happened,  at  the 
time,  to  be  at  a  distance,  and  in  the  direction 
of  their  uncle's  house.  The  Indians  were 
concealed  in  the  canebrake ;  and,  coming  up 
slily,  behind  the  fallen  tree,  so  as  not  to  be 


138  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

discovered  by  her,  they  drove  the  tomahawk 
into  her  head  before  she  knew  they  were 
near.  The  Indian  who  did  the  bloody  deed 
was  seen  by  the  boys  just  as  he  struck  their 
mother ;  but  they  were  at  a  sufficient  distance 
to  make  their  escape. 

The  next  day  we  attended  the  funeral,  and 
almost  the  whole  settlement  were  out,  and 
were  much  affected  during  the  discourse  I  de- 
livered on  the  occasion.  It  was  my  practice, 
when  any  peculiar  effect  attended  my  unpre- 
meditated remarks,  of  committing  them,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  from  recollection,  to  writing. 
So  I  did  in  this  case.  I  held  my  Bible  in  my 
hand,  and  said  : — 

"I  have  been  listening,  my  brethren,  to 
your  conversation  respecting  the  afflicting 
occurrence  which  has  brought  us  together. 
You  think,  from  what  you  discover,  that  the 
Indians  are  numerous  in  this  vicinity,  suffi- 
ciently so  to  cut  all  of  you  off  in  your  present 
defenceless  state  ;  and  you  propose,  without 
delay,  to  provide  a  place  of  refuge  for  your 
exposed  wives  and  children,  to  which  they 
may  flee  in  times  of  danger,  and  be  safe  from 
the  tomahawks  of  your  merciless  enemies 
In  doing  this  you  would  doubtless  do  well. 
But  there  is  a  death  more  dreadful  than  the 
most  ferocious  savage  can  inflict !  Against 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE.  139 

this  I  have  not  heard  any  talk  of  a  defence. 
I  am  come  to  tell  you  how  you  may  escape 
this  death,  of  which,  I  doubt  not,  your  con- 
sciences have  told  you  there  is  danger,  and 
to  point  you  a  place  of  safety,  for  yourselves, 
your  wives,  and  your  little  ones.  Some  of 
you  may  doubt  my  ability  to  do  this.  But, 
see !  I  hold  my  Bible  in  my  hand.  In  this 
blessed  book  the  will  of  God  our  Saviour  is 
revealed,  and  brought  down  to  the  weakest 
capacity.  St.  Paul  has  cast  up  the  sum  of 
good  which  Heaven  kindly  wills  to  all  men. 
And  here  it  is :  1  Tim.,  2d.  chap.,  '  God  our 
Saviour  will  have  all  to  be  saved,  and  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.'  Salvation, 
not  only  from  savage,  but  from  infernal  cru- 
elty !  This  is  the  sum,  and  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  is  the  means.  Do 
any  of  you  ask  what  is  implied  by  coming  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  It  is  to  be 
brought  to  know  that  Christ,  by  his  sacrificial 
death,  has  made  atonement  for  all  our  sins, 
original  and  actual ;  and  that  this  is  the  'man 
who  receiveth  sinners.' 

"  Again,  I  ask,  can  any  of  you  doubt  of  my 
sincerity,  when  I  have  taken  my  life  in  my 
hand,  to  bring  these  glad  tidings  to  your 
doors  ?  Tell  me,  my  dear  people,  what  would 
you  have  to  fear,  if  Jesus  were  your  friend  ? 


HO  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

The  winds  and  the  seas — the  devils  and  the 
dead — were  subject  to  his  word !  And  he  is 
still  the  same  almighty  Jesus  !  With  you  I 
mingle  my  tears.  You  weep  for  your  depart- 
ed, murdered  friend ;  and  say,  Alas !  that  it 
had  not  been.  She  was,  you  say,  an  affec- 
tionate wife,  a  tender  mother,  and  one  of  the 
best  of  neighbours.  She  was  the  better  pre- 
pared to  meet  her  tragical  death.  But,  dear 
woman,  she  sinned  against  her  own  life.  Had 
she  been  with  us  at  the  house  of  worship,  she 
would  still  have  lived  to  comfort  and  cheer 
her  family  and  friends.  I  mean  not  to  insi- 
nuate that  her  death  was  a  judicial  punish- 
ment. I  cannot  believe  that  God  sent  the 
savage  to  murder  this  amiable  wife,  mother, 
and  friend,  because  she  did  not  attend  our 
preaching.  And  yet  we  trace  a  providence  in 
her  death.  God,  who  numbers  the  hairs  of 
our  heads,  did  not  see  cause  to  interpose  a 
special  providence  to  save  her.  In  this  sense 
her  enemy  was  permitted  to  perpetrate  this 
cruel  act  At  the  same  time  God  did  much  to 
draw  her  from  the  place  of  danger.  In  the 
first  place,  his  providence  directed  that  there 
should  be  preaching  near,  at  the  hour  the 
prowling  savage  was  approaching  the  fatal 
spot;  and  in  the  second,  that  her  friends 
should  call  her  attention  to  it,  and  solicit  her 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE:.  141 

to  go  with  them  to  hear  the  word  of  salvation 
which  the  Lord  had  sent  unto  them.  Ah! 
my  sister,  for  such  I  will  style  thee,  I  sorrow 
much  on  thy  account,  but  not  without  hope. 
I  have  seen  thee  tenderly  affected,  have  heard 
thee  bewail  thy  native  depravity  and  actual 
sins,  and  more  than  once  seen  thy  counte- 
nance lighted  up  with  a  celestial  ray  of  hope. 
Yesterday  I  marked  thy  vacant  seat.  It  was 
the  first  time.  I  had  been  told  that  much 
pains  had  been  taken  to  prejudice  thy  feeling 
mind  against  this  way.  By  whom?  Those 
who  are  in  affinity  with  him  who  said  to  the 
Son  of  God,  '  All  this  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou 
wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me  ?'  And  are 
these  they  who  have  gloried  in  keeping  thee 
from  the  place  where  Christ  was  preached  ? 
Alas !  these  are  thy  murderers.  They  bound 
thee  with  the  hempen  cord  of  prejudice,  and 
delivered  thee  into  the  hands  of  savage  men. 
But  he,'  I  hope,  who  '  was  in  all  points  tempt- 
ed as  we  are,'  had  pity  on  thine  infirmities, 
and  saved  thee  from  the  gulf  of  eternal  ruin, 
to  the  brink  of  which  they  who  had  conspired 
against  thy  soul  had  brought  thee. 

"I  did  hear  one  of  you  say,  'It  was  to  be  so  ; 
the  dear  woman  was  lorn  to  die  by  the  hand  of 
an  Indian!'  Rather  say,  she  died  by  the 
hands  of  her  professed,  but  deluded  friends ! 


142  MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

She  was  born  a  candidate  for  immortal 
honours,  as  we  all  were.  Such  is  the  import 
of  the  words  I  have  quoted,  'God  our  Saviour 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth.'  Hitherto  my 
labours  among  you  have  been  apparently 
abortive.  One  bud,  indeed,  appeared;  but 
before  it  fully  bloomed,  it  was  plucked.  And 
what  shall  I  now  say  ?  Shall  I  bid  you  adieu, 
and  leave  you  to  waste  your  powers  in  your 
worldly  pursuits,  and  in  self-defence  against 
the  red  men  of  the  wilderness  ?  I  am  invited 
to  more  places  than  I  can  attend.  Probably 
in.  some  of  those  places  which  I  have  neg- 
lected, to  serve  you,  I  might  have  succeeded 
in  winning  souls  to  Christ,  and  raising  up  a 
little  family  with  whom  I  could  have  felt  my- 
self at  home." 

After  concluding  my  remarks,  which  were 
designed  to  improve  the  occasion  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  living,  many  came  around  me,  and 
some  who  had  not  heard  me  before,  and  en- 
treated with  tears  that  I  would  not  abandon 
them.  The  next  time  I  came  there,  ten  or 
twelve  united  with  purpose  of  heart  to  seek 
the  Lord. 

From  this  settlement  I  went  down  to  the 
lowest  on  the  Holston.  I  found  the  people 
assembled  in  several  places,  in  a  state  of  great 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  143 

alarm,  devising  means  of  defence  against  an 
enemy  from  whom  they  expected  no  mercy. 
Many  seemed  struck  with  astonishment  that  I 
should  hazard  my  life  to  visit  them  at  such  a 
time.  They  were  full  of  kindness,  heard 
with  interest,  and  guarded  me  from  place  to 
place,  as  I  travelled  about. 

From  this  section  I  crossed  over  to  French 
Broad  river.  This  journey  was  dreary  enough. 
No  regular  road,  and  for  much  of  the  way  not 
a  vestige  of  one  to  be  seen,  except  the  marked 
trees  leading  to  the  lower  settlements  on  the 
French  Broad,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cherokees. 
Nor  was  there  a  cabin  to  be  seen.  I  was 
sometimes  roused  from  my  monotonous  revery 
by  flocks  of  deer,  wild  turkeys,  or  an  affright- 
ed bear,  dashing  through  the  underbrush. 

Among  the  white  children  of  the  forest  in- 
habiting the  region  I  visited,  there  were  some 
Methodists,  who  had  come  from  distant  parts, 
and  brought  their  religion  with  them.  These 
hailed  me  as  a  welcome  messenger;  and, 
leading  the  way,  many  followed  them  in  the 
service  of  the  Lord.  So  in  a  short  time  we 
had  a  flourishing  society;  and  there  were 
men  capable  of  taking  a  part  in  conducting  its 
operations. 

On  the  French  Broad,  and  other  parts  of 
the  circuit,  I  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the 


144  MEMOIR  OP  REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

Indians.  But  I  had  to  stem  a  torrent  of  oppo- 
sition from  another  quarter.  Not  indeed  from 
the  people  at  first,  for  they  received  me  kindly. 
But  there  were  a  few  preachers  whose  cha- 
racters stood  fair,  and  a  number  of  others 
most  decidedly  Antinomian  in  their  sentiments, 
who  came  here  as  professed  ministers  of  the 
gospel;  and  these  succeeded  for  a  time  in 
gaining  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  preju- 
dicing their  minds  against  the  Methodists,  and, 
finally,  against  all  religion.  Of  these,  some 
of  the  most  gifted  turned  out  very  badly. 
Two  of  them,*  the  loudest  in  their  defence  of 
Antinomian  principles,  and  their  opposition 
against  us,  eloped  under  circumstances  of 
great  scandal,  having  ruined  the  domestic 
felicity  of  several  families.  This  had  a  ten- 
dency to  bring  the  profession  of  the  ministry 
into  much  contempt. 

Some  time  after  the  infamous  conduct  of 
these  men  became  notorious,  while  travelling 
to  visit  a  new  place,  I  was  taken  sick  upon 
the  road,  and  found  it  necessary  to  halt  and 
lie  down  in  the  woods.  It  soon  began  to  rain 
freely,  which  admonished  me  that  I  must  go. 
After  several  attempts  I  succeeded  in  mount- 

*  One  of  these,  in  haranguing  the  people  on  the  subject  of 
the  impossibility  of  falling  from  grace,  assured  them  that  no 
falls  after  conviction  could  endanger  the  salvation  of  any. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  145 

ing  my  horse,  and  proceeded  on,  so  slowly, 
however,  that  I  did  not  reach  a  settlement 
through  which  I  had  to  pass,  until  night  came 
on.     I  accordingly  called  at  the  first  house, 
and  solicited  shelter  from  the  rain  during  the 
night,  but  was  abruptly  refused.     I  had  been 
told  that  there  lived  in  the  neighbourhood  a 
wealthy  Quaker,  and  requested  the  churl  to 
direct  me  to  his  house,  which  he  did  with  a 
very  significant  shrug.     I  soon  reached  the 
house  ;  but  instead  of  a  kind-hearted  Friend, 
I  found  a  sarcastic  Deist.     He  soon  gave  me 
to  understand  that  my  intended  visit,  with  my 
character,  was  well  known  to  them,  and  that 
neither  he  nor  his  neighbours  had  any  great 
liking  for  priests   of  any  kind ;  he  thought, 
therefore,  that  I  might  as  well  pass  them  by. 
I  told  him  that  whatever  the  differences  of  our 
religious  views  might  be,  there  was  a  debt  of 
humanity  which  we  owed  to  each  other,  and 
if  there  was  any  flesh  in  his  heart  he  would 
not  deny  a  fellow-being  a  shelter  from  the 
storm  during  the  night.     He  replied,  "  Young 
man,  if  thou  wouldst  follow  some  honest  call- 
ing, honest  men  would  make  thee  welcome. 
There,"  said  he,  "is  neighbour  Hodge,  whose 
wife  is  old  and  ugly ;  he  may  give  thee  lodg- 
ings."   By  this,   with   some   other  indecent 
allusions,  I  understood  what  he  meant,  and 

7 


146  MEMOIR    OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

that  the  scandal  brought  upon  religion  by 
those  persons  named  above  was  employed  to 
disparage  us,  and  said  to  myself  as  I  rode  off, 
"  Alas !  how  has  the  Antinomian  wolf,  in 
sheep's  clothing,  infested  this  new  world."* 

Old  Mr.  Hodge  was  indeed  much  less  inhu- 
man than  the  apostate  Quaker,  for  he  per- 
mitted me  to  tarry,  provided  I  would  turn  my 
horse  into  the  woods,  and  take  my  lodging  on 
the  floor-planks.  So,  after  turning  my  horse 
loose  and  changing  my  wet  clothes,  while  sit- 
ting by  the  fire,  I  placed  my  hand  on  the  old 
man's  knee  and  said,  "  Father,  you  have  not, 
I  presume,  lived  to  this  good  old  age  without 
having  had  many  serious  thoughts  on  the 
subject  of  religion?"  He  gave  me  an  angry 
look,  and  replied  that  I  need  say  nothing  to 
him  on  the  subject  of  religion.  He  believed, 
all  the  professors  he  had  known  were  hypo- 
crites; and  the  preachers  a  set  of  rascals, 
no  better  than  pickpockets.  He  supposed  I 
was  one ;  but,  said  he,  "  We  don't  want  more 

*  In  an  itinerant  life  of  nearly  half  a  century,  and  sometimes 
as  pioneer,  I  have  been  thrown  upon  the  hospitality  of  all  sorts 
of  people ;  but  I  beg  to  be  delivered  from  the  necessity  of  ap- 
proaching the  door  of  an  infidel  or  a  fanatic,  above  all  others.  In 
such  I  have  always  found  the  milk  of  human  kindness  dried  up. 
Who  but  an  infidel,  having  ample  accommodations,  would  in- 
sult a  stranger  and  turn  him  from  his  door,  to  spend  the  night 
in  the  chilling  rain,  barely  because  his  occupation  was  that  of 
a  preacher  of  the  gospel  ] 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  147 

of  ye  here.  He  then  ordered  his  wife  to  "  bear 
a  hand,"  and  give  him  his  supper ;  and,  when 
it  was  ready,  they  sat  down  and  partook 
without  inviting  me,  or  seeming  to  care  any 
thing  about  me.  This  was  not,  however,  a 
common  thing  with  the  people  of  that  coun- 
try. They  generally  made  me  welcome,  and 
treated  me  with  great  kindness. 

In  addition  to  the  difficulties  I  had  to  en- 
counter from  the  causes  I  have  mentioned,  an 
unpleasant  occurrence  took  place  which  pro- 
duced others.  A  dispute  had  arisen  between 
a  Colonel  Tip  ton  and  the  governor,  which 
terminated  in  a  short  civil  war.  The  colonel 
was  opposed  to  the  execution  of  certain  state 
laws  in  his  section,  to  which  the  governor 
resolved  to  compel  him  and  his  party  to  sub- 
mit, by  the  employment  of  a  military  force. 
Coming  to  one  of  my  appointments  on  French 
Broad,  in  the  afternoon  of  one  of  the  coldest 
days  I  ever  witnessed  in  that  country,  I  found 
a  large  company  of  armed  men  there,  going 
to  attack  Colonel  Tipton  in  his  own  house, 
where  he  had  fortified  himself ;  and  they  were 
endeavouring  to  persuade  the  men  who  came 
to  hear  preaching  to  go  with  them.  Captain 
Turner,  at  whose  house  we  were  met,  was 
from  home.  Not  observing  that  many  of 
them  were  intoxicated,  I  ventured  to  address 


148  MEMOIR    OF    KEY.    THOMAS  WARE. 

them,  and  endeavour  to  dissuade  them  from 
their  purpose.  But  they  at  once  concluded 
that  I  was  TiptonTs  friend,  and  became  out- 
rageous. Some  were  for  despatching  me  at 
once.  Others  deemed  it  better  to  take  me 
before  the  governor,  who  was  about  ten  miles 
distant,  and  have  me  tried  as  a  spy.  This 
was  a  device  of  some  of  my  friends,  with  a 
view  of  giving  me  a  chance  to  make  my 
escape.  While  they  disputed,  I  withdrew  to 
an  adjoining  room,  and  hastened  to  the  sta- 
ble by  a  back  way,  saddled  my  horse,  and 
was  out  of  their  reach  before  they  knew  I  was 
off.  Thus  I  escaped  the  vengeance  of  infuri- 
ated men,  but  became  exposed  to  imminent 
danger  from  another  quarter.  It  was  now 
near  night ;  and  I  had  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
to  ride  in  order  to  reach  the  first  settlement. 
The  river  I  had  to  ford  was  fifty  rods  wide, 
and  filled  with  floating  ice,  which,  in  some 
places,  was  congealed  into  large  cakes,  ren- 
dering the  passage  extremely  difficult  and 
dangerous.  But  my  noble  beast  carried  me 
safely  over. 

I  had  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
way;  and,  as  the  marks  on  the  trees  were 
my  principal  guide,  it  was  matter  of  much 
doubt  whether  I  could  find  it  in  the  night. 
As  I  feared,  so  it  happened.  I  took  a  path 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  149 

which  soon  came  to  an  end.  By  this  time  I 
had  become  so  chilled  that  I  could  scarcely 
keep  myself  awake  upon  my  horse.  I  was 
apprized  of  my  danger,  dismounted  immedi- 
ately, and  ran  to  and  fro  until  I  became 
warm.  After  taking  several  cow-paths  which 
led  from  the  river  into  the  forest,  all  of  which 
shortly  came  to  an  end,  I  concluded  to  throw 
the  bridle  on  my  horse's  neck,  and  let  him 
take  his  own  course ;  and,  a  little  before  mid- 
night, he  brought  me  to  the  house  where  I 
wished  to  go.  The  night  was  so  exceedingly 
cold,  and  the  house  of  my  friend  so  open,  that 
he  and  his  family  had  found  it  more  comforta- 
ble to  remain  up  and  keep  a  good  fire,  than  to 
retire  to  rest.  In  this  condition  I  found  them  ; 
and  never  was  a  good  country  fire  and  a  kind 
reception  by  friends  more  welcome  to  my 
feelings.  After  recounting  to  them  the  ad- 
ventures of  the  day,  how  I  had  escaped 
from  the  enraged  fury  of  men  and  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  wintry  frost,  through  the  instru- 
mentality, first,  of  the  sagacity  of  kind  friends, 
and  then  that  of  my  faithful  horse,  I  called 
upon  them  to  unite  with  me  in  returning 
.  thanks  to  the  Christian's  God,  who  himself  is 
the  preserver  of  man  and  beast. 

The  men  who  put  me  in  fear  went  and  be- 
sieged Colonel  Tipton's   house ;  but  Colonel 


150  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

Maxwell,  who  was  in  his  interest,  came  upon 
them  unawares,  and  totally  routed  them, 
taking  from  them  their  arms,  baggage,  and 
horses.  I  afterward  met  a  number  of  these 
men  returning  without  their  arms,  and  among 
them  some  whom  I  had  admonished  not  to 
go,  and  was  strongly  inclined  to  remind  them 
of  the  admonition  I  had  given  them ;  but  I 
concluded  that  they  were  sufficiently  mortified 
already,  and  that  it  might  only  arouse  their 
indignation  against  me,  so  I  let  them  pass. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  151 


CHAPTER  X. 

First  conference,  in  Holston,  in  1788 — Bishop  Asbury  de- 
tained for  company  to  pass  through  the  hostile  tribes  of  Indians 
— Preachers  labour  during  the  time — The  work  of  God  breaks 
out — General  Russell  and  lady  first  fruits — The  effect  of  their 
change  upon  others — Mr.  Ware  is  appointed  to  East  New- 
River  circuit — Difficulties  of  travelling  in  that  new  country — 
Storm  on  the  mountains — Suffering  and  exposure  in  conse- 
quence of  not  being  able  to  cross  a  stream — Frequent  baptisms 
and  their  effects  upon  the  minds  of  the  people — Anecdote  of  a 
young  Baptist  preacher — Mr.  Asbury  passes  through  the  circuit 
and  takes  Mr.  Ware  with  him  to  North  Carolina — Prospect  on 
the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge — Conference  at  M'Knight's 
chapel — Mr.  Wesley's  name  restored  to  the  Minutes — At  this 
conference  Mr.  Ware  is  appointed  to  Caswell  circuit — Is  poorly 
clad — Loses  his  horse — Finds  friends  and  goes  on — Visits  a 
neighbourhood  of  Episcopalians — Administers  baptism — The 
power  of  God  is  revealed  among  the  people — A  blessed  work 
follows — He  is  appointed  to  a  district — Conversion  of  General 
Bryan  and  lady,  with  many  other  members  of  their  family — 
Anecdote  of  Mrs.  Jones — Wonderful  manifestations  of  the 
power  and  grace  of  God  at  a  quarterly  meeting — Liberal  offer 
made  Mr.  Ware  to  remain  with  an  aged  couple,  and  take  charge 
of  them  and  their  business,  which  he  declines,  and  leaves  the 
south  to  return  to  his  friends  in  New-Jersey. 

OUR  first  conference  in  Holston  was  held 
in  1788.  As  the  road  by  which  Bishop  As- 
bury wras  to  come,  was  infested  with  hostile 
savages,  set  that  it  could  not  be  travelled 
except  by  considerable  companies  together, 
he  was  detained  for  a  week  after  the  time 
appointed  to  commence  it.  But  we  were  not 


152  MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

idle  ;  and  the  Lord  gave  us  many  souls  in  the 
place  where  we  were  assembled,  among  whom 
were  General  Russell  and  lady,  the  latter  a 
sister  of  the  illustrious  Patrick  Henry.  I 
mention  these  particularly,  because  they 
were  the  first  fruits  of  our  labours  at  this 
conference. 

On  the  sabbath  we  had  a  crowded  audi- 
ence ;  and  Mr.  Tunnell  preached  an  excellent 
sermon,  which  produced  great  effect.  The 
sermon  was  followed  by  a  number  of  power- 
ful exhortations.  When  the  meeting  closed, 
Mrs.  Russell  came  to  me  and  said,  "  I  thought 
I  was  a  Christian  ;  but,  sir,  I  am  not  a  Chris- 
tian— I  am  the  veriest  sinner  upon  earth.  I 
want  you  and  Mr.  Mastin  to  come  with  Mr. 
Tunnell  to  our  house,  and  pray  for  us,  and 
tell  us  what  we  must  do  to  be  saved."  So 
we  went  and  spent  much  of  the  afternoon  in 
prayer,  especially  for  Mrs.  Russell.  But  she 
did  not  obtain  deliverance.  Being  much  ex- 
hausted, the  preachers  retired  to  a  pleasant 
grove,  near  at  hand,  to  spend  a  short  time. 
After  we  had  retired,  the  general,  seeing  the 
agony  of  soul  under  which  his  poor  wife  was 
labouring,  read  to  her,  by  the  advice  of  his 
pious  daughter,  Mr.  Fletcher's  charming  ad- 
dress to  mourners,  as  contained  in  his  Appeal. 
At  length  we  heard  the  word  "  Glory !"  often 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  153 

repeated,  accompanied  with  the  clapping  of 
hands.  We  hastened  to  the  house,  and  found 
Mrs.  Russell  praising  the  Lord,  and  the  gene- 
ral walking  the  floor  and  weeping  bitterly, 
uttering,  at  the  same  time,  this  plaintive  ap- 
peal to  the  Saviour  of  sinners :  "  O  Lord, 
thou  didst  bless  my  dear  wife  while  thy  poor 
servant  was  reading  to  her — hast  thou  not  a 
blessing  also  for  me  ?"  At  length  he  sat 
down,  quite  exhausted.  This  scene  was  in  a 
high  degree  interesting  to  us.  To  see  the  old 
soldier  and  statesman — the  proud  opposer  of 
godliness,  trembling,  and  earnestly  inquiring 
what  he  must  do  to  be  saved,  was  an  affect- 
ing sight.  But  the  work  ended  not  here. 
The  conversion  of  Mrs.  Russell,  whose  zeal, 
good  sense,  and  amiableness  of  character, 
were  proverbial,  together  with  the  penitential 
grief  so  conspicuous  in  the  general,  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  many  ;  and 
numbers  were  brought  in  before  the  con- 
ference closed.  The  general  rested  not  until 
he  knew  his  adoption ;  and  he  continued  a 
faithful  member  of  the  church,  and  an  official 
member,  after  he  became  eligible  for  office, 
constantly  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour,  unto  the  end  of  his  life. 

From  this  conference  I  was  appointed  to 
East  New-River,  with  a  colleague  younger 
7* 


154  MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

than  myself.  We  were  instructed  to  enlarge 
our  borders  from  a  two,  to  a  four  weeks'  cir- 
cuit. This  we  did  with  great  ease.  There 
was  not  within  the  bounds  of  our  circuit  a  re- 
ligious meeting  except  those  held  by  us.  The 
hearts  and  houses  of  the  people  were  open  to 
receive  us,  so  that  we  hesitated  not  to  call  at 
any  dwelling  which  might  first  come  in  our 
way  when  we  wanted  refreshment.  Here 
had  been  a  goodly  number  gathered  in  the 
preceding  year.  These  needed  to  be  nursed 
with  care.  Of  these  we  lost,  by  death,  re- 
moval, and  otherwise,  during  the  year,  twenty; 
and  we  received  eighty  into  the  church. 

During  the  mild  season  we  had  little  incon- 
venience to  encounter  in  travelling  this  circuit. 
But  when  dreary  winter  set  in,  our  sufferings 
and  privations  were  severe  in  the  extreme. 
We  had  to  cross  Walker's  mountain  in  our 
route.  Early  one  morning,  toward  the  close 
of  the  year,  I  commenced  its  steep  ascent. 
Much  rain  had  fallen  the  previous  night ;  but 
it  was  a  lovely  morning,  the  air  being  exceed- 
ingly soft  and  pleasant  for  the  season.  When 
I  had  gained  the  summit  of  a  ridge  or  spur  of 
the  mountain,  and  looked  toward  the  heights 
yet  to  be  ascended,  where  winter  was  collect- 
ing its  howling  forces,  my  heart  failed  me, 
and  I  began  to  retrace  my  steps.  Where  I 


MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS   WARE.  155 

stood  it  was  quite  calm  ;  and  when  I  cast  my 
eyes  to  the  east,  not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen. 
But  on  the  mountain's  top  all  was  raging 
tempest.  The  wind  blew  from  the  south- 
west, and  the  cloud,  which  had  been  hid  from 
my  view  by  the  mountain,  arose,  and  in  thick 
and  dark  columns,  loaded  with  vapour  con- 
gealed into  snow,  which,  as  the  sun  shone 
upon  it,  had  the  appearance  of  a  solid  body 
of  water,  rolling  in  awful  majesty,  and  threat- 
ening a  general  inundation.  This,  with  the 
tremendous  commotion  of  the  agitated  ele- 
ments upon  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  pre- 
sented the  most  terrific  scene  I  had  ever 
witnessed.  I  fled  with  all  possible  speed 
from  this  approaching  cloud,  which  I  sup- 
posed to  be  surcharged  with  rain ;  but  it  ulti- 
mately proved  to  be  snow. 

I  then  directed  my  course  to  the  gap 
through  which  I  had  to  pass ;  and  being 
somewhat  sheltered  from  the  wind  by  the 
mountain,  I  supposed  the  storm  had  abated. 
But  when  I  came  to  dispute  this  passage  with 
the  furious  gale,  pelting  me  with  snow  and 
hail  at  every  step,  it  called  for  all  the  resolu- 
tion I  possessed  to  force  the  defile  in  the  face 
of  so  formidable  a  foe.  It  was  almost  night 
when  I  came  in  sight  of  the  hamlet  for  which 
I  had  long  been  anxiously  looking ;  but,  alas ! 


156  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

a  creek  which  crossed  the  way  had  so  swol- 
len by  the  late  rain  that  I  could  not  pass  it. 
The  sun  had  gone  down  clear ;  and  the  cold 
was  intense,  and  becoming  more  so  every 
minute.  I  called  aloud  for  assistance  until  I 
became  hoarse ;  but  no  one  answered.  See- 
ing near  me  a  few  stacks  of  hay,  with  a  num- 
ber of  cattle  shivering  around  them,  as  they 
appeared  to  be  my  only  resort  to  save  myself 
from  perishing,  and  furnish  my  horse  with 
something  to  eat,  I  repaired  to  them,  placed 
my  horse  in  a  situation  to  eat,  and  provided 
as  well  as  I  could  to  make  myself  a  bed  of 
the  hay  to  spend  the  night,  unless  some  one 
should  come  to  feed  the  stock,  who  might 
assist  me  over  the  creek.  It  was  soon  dark, 
and  no  one  came.  My  blood  began  to  be 
chilled ;  and  I  felt  that  to  stay  there  was  to 
jeopard  my  life.  So  I  resolved  on  returning 
to  a  sorry-looking  hut  which  I  had  seen  about 
five  miles  back,  and  seek  for  shelter  there. 
I  found  the  hut  warm,  and  inhabited  by  a 
young  couple  with  two  small  children.  Whe- 
ther they  thought  me  intoxicated,  or  what 
else,  (as  the  cold  had  very  much  affected  my 
speech,)  I  do  not  know ;  but  the  man  gave 
me  to  understand,  at  once,  that  I  could  not 
stay  there.  I  looked  at  him,  and  smiling, 
said,  that  would  depend  upon  our  comparative 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  157 

strength.  It  was  true  he  might  demand  the 
assistance  of  his  wife  to  put  me  out;  but  I 
fondly  hoped  she  would  be  on  my  side.  At 
this  he  laughed  pleasantly,  and  began  to  stir 
up  the  fire.  When  they  ascertained  who  I 
was  they  treated  me  with  great  kindness,  and 
furnished  me  every  thing  in  their  power  to 
render  me  and  my  beast  comfortable.  In  the 
morning  I  baptized  their  children ;  and  the 
man  kindly  accompanied  me  to  a  safe  fording 
place,  where  I  crossed,  and  soon  reached  the 
house  of  a  friend,  where  I  had  an  appoint- 
ment the  preceding  day.  But  my  sufferings 
ended  not  with  that  day,  nor  have  they  termi- 
nated yet.  My  feet  were  sore  for  a  long 
time  ;  and  they  have  ever  since  been  subject 
to  a  death-like  coldness,  for  which  there  is  no 
remedy  this  side  of  the  grave. 

"The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoic- 
ing the  heart ;"  nor  is  that  the  least  of  these 
statutes  which  provides  a  fold  for  the  lambs 
of  the  flock.  Hence  those  who  followed 
Christ  as  their  shepherd  rejoiced  to  hear  him 
say,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me, 
and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  There  were  many  on  this 
circuit,  both  of  those  who  had  taken  the  Lord 
for  their  portion  and  those  who  as  yet  had  not, 
who  manifested  a  desire  to  .have  him  the 


158  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

God  of  their  children,  and  therefore  presented 
them  to  be  baptized.  Of  the  latter  class,  the 
hearts  of  the  parents  were  usually  touched 
when  their  children  were  dedicated  to  God  in 
accordance  with  his  own  institution.  Some- 
times the  scene  was  truly  affecting,  when  the 
thought  was  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  pa- 
rents that  their  children,  according  to  the 
declaration  of  the  Saviour,  belonged  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  while  they  did  not. 

I  cannot  but  regret  that  I  did  not  keep,  for 
my  own  satisfaction,  a  record  of  the  number 
of  these  lambs  of  Christ's  flock  which  I  have 
held  in  my  arms,  and  dedicated  to  Him.  I 
doubt  if  any  travelling  preacher  could  produce 
a  more  extended  list.  For  a  time  I  attempted 
this  task.  But  in  Holston,  Clinch,  French 
Broad,  and  New-River,  there  were  so  many 
children  presented  for  baptism  that  I  found 
it  difficult,  and  gave  it  up.  Alas !  who  can 
retrospect  his  life,  and  find  nothing  to  regret ! 

As  the  Presbyterians  on  New-River  had  no 
minister,  they  brought  many  of  their  children 
to  me  for  baptism.  Neither  had  the  Baptists, 
of  whom  there  were  a  few,  any  minister  when 
we  came  on  the  circuit.  A  young  licen- 
tiate of  that  order  came,  however,  before  we 
left.  He  appeared  to  possess  much  of  the 
spirit  of  love,  and  was  with  me  several  days. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  159 

He  frequently  exhorted  and  closed  our  meet- 
ings by  prayer.  He  was  present  one  day  at 
a  meeting  in  a  Presbyterian  settlement,  where 
several  children  were  brought  forward  to  be 
baptized.  On  this  occasion  I  stated  some  of 
our  reasons  for  baptizing  infants,  and  then 
called  on  my  young  friend  to  close  as  usual. 
He  rose  up,  and  to  our  surprise,  whether  by 
previous  understanding  or  not  I  cannot  say, 
a  Baptist  woman  in  the  congregation  pre- 
sented him  her  child.  He  took  it  into  his 
arms,  pronounced  a  blessing  upon  it,  and  re- 
turned it;  and  then  proceeded  to  say,  "Jesus 
took  little  children  into  his  arms,  not  to  bap- 
tize, but  to  bless  them.  No,  my  friends, 
neither  Jesus  nor  his  disciples  ever  spent  their 
time  in  baby-sprinkling."  Here  he  paused; 
holding  his  hand  to  his  eye  as  if  in  great 
pain ;  and  the  people  were  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  was  the  matter.  He  finally  told  them 
that  a  hornet  had  stung  him  in  the  eye ;  and 
the  woman  upon  whose  child  he  had  pro- 
nounced a  blessing  stated  that  she  knew  a 
remedy  for  it,  at  which  he  immediately  left 
and  went  with  her,  and  I  never  saw  him  after. 
I  passed  two  years  in  this  country  very 
pleasantly  to  myself,  and  so  it  would  have 
been  in  Greenland  itself,  with  the  sentiments 
and  feelings  I  possessed. 


160  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

In  the  spring  of  1789,  Bishop  Asbury  vi- 
sited my  circuit,  and  took  me  with  him  to 
North  Carolina.  From  New  River  to  the 
"  Flower  Gap,"  a  distance  not  exactly  remem- 
bered, we  gradually  ascended  till  we  reached 
the  summit  of  the  Blue,Ridge,  on  the  border 
of  North  Carolina.  When  we  arrived  here, 
I  was  enchanted,  and  should  have  spent 
hours  in  surveying  the  scene  below,  had  I 
been  alone  ;  but  it  was  all  familiar  to  Bishop 
Asbury,  who  immediately  dismounted  and 
began  to  descend  the  mountain.  I,  of  course, 
must  follow  him,  which  I  did  with  a  sublimity 
of  feeling  that  I  cannot  describe.  From  this 
lofty  eminence  you  see  the  world  spread  out 
below  you,  extended  in  one  continued  grove, 
excepting  here  and  there  a  spot,  until  vision 
is  lost  in  the  blue  expanse  which  limits  its 
powers. 

Our  conference  was  held  this  year  at 
M'Knight's  church,  commencing  on  the  llth 
of  April.  It  was  one  of  the  most  interesting 
conferences  I  had  attended.  Great  grace 
rested  on  both  preachers  and  people,  and 
much  good  resulted.  There  was  much  tender 
solicitude  felt  and  expressed  on  account  of 
Mr.  Wesley.  He  was  grieved  with  the  man- 
ner in  wrhich  his  name  had  been  expunged 
from  the  Minutes ;  and  it  was  the  wish  of  the 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  161 

conference  to  introduce  it  again  in  the  most 
respectful  way  they  could.  Accordingly  they 
adopted  the  question  and  answer  contained  in 
the  minutes  for  the  year,  viz. : 

"  Quest.  Who  are  the  persons  that  exercise 
the  episcopal  office  in  the  Methodist  Church  in 
Europe  and  America  ? 

"Ans.  John  Wesley,  Thomas  Coke,  Francis 
Asbury." 

My  appointment  was  Caswell  circuit.  At 
the  close  of  conference,  I  set  out  for  my  field 
of  labour,  poorly  clad  and  nearly  pennyless, 
but  happy  in  God.  In  the  Holston  country 
there  was  but  little  money,  and  clothing  was 
very  dear.  My  coat  was  worn  through  at  the 
elbows ;  and  I  had  not  a  whole  under  gar- 
ment left;  and  as  for  boots,  I  had  none.  But 
my  health  was  good,  and  I  was  finely  mount- 
ed. I  could  have  sold  my  horse  for  sufficient 
to  purchase  another  to  answer  my  pur- 
pose, and  clothe  myself  decently ;  but  he 
had  borne  me  safely  through  so  many  dan- 
gers, and  once,  at  least,  by  his  instinctive 
sagacity,  rescued  me  from  perishing,  that  I  had 
resolved  that  nothing  but  death  should  sepa- 
rate us.  This,  however,  soon  occurred ;  for 
in  a  few  days  this  noble  animal,  my  sole  pro- 
perty in  the  world  at  that  time,  sickened  and 
died.  So  there  I  was,  an  entire  stranger, 


. 

162  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

several  hundred  miles  from  home,  without 
horse,  decent  clothing,  or  funds.  But  I  was 
not  without  friends.  The  good  brother  with 
whom  I  stayed  gave  me  a  horse  for  four 
weeks  on  trial;  and  I  determined  to  go  to 
Newbern,  and  try  my  credit  for  clothing. 

On  my  way  I  called  at  the  house  of  a  gen- 
tleman by  the  name  of  Howe,  who,  though 
not  a  Methodist,  was  friendly.  His  inquiries 
about  the  western  country  led  to  a  develop- 
ment of  my  destitute  condition,  with  which  I 
saw  he  was  touched.  He  pressed  me  to 
spend  a  few  days. with  him;  but  I  told  him 
time  was  a  talent  with  which  God  had 
intrusted  me,  and  it  was  all  I  could  call  my 
own,  and  I  must  hasten  on  to  my  work. 
Earthly  treasures  I  had  none,  and  had  aban- 
doned all  means  of  acquiring  them.  But  a 
heavenly  inheritance  I  hoped,  with  increasing 
zeal  and  activity,  to  seek  throughout  my  life. 
I  then  informed  him  of  my  business  to  New- 
bern, where  I  knew  no  person.  After  I  had 
mounted  and  left  this  gentleman,  he  called  me 
back,  saying  he  had  a  store  in  Newbern,  and 
wished  me  to  hand  a  letter  which  he  gave 
me  to  his  clerk.  Little  did  I  think,  at  the 
time,  that  it  contained  directions  to  his  clerk 
to  let  me  have  what  I  might  want  out  of  the 
store  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  dollars,  for 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  163 

which  he  would  never  afterward  allow  me  to 
pay  him  a  single  cent.  Thus  did  the  Lord 
provide ! 

Soon  after  commencing  my  labours  in 
North  Carolina,  I  visited  a  pleasant  settle- 
ment consisting  almost  exclusively  of  Episco- 
palians. In  the  time  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  their  ministers  had  left  them,  and  they 
had  long  been  without  the  form  of  religion 
among  them.  At  their  request,  I  went  to 
preach  to  them,  and  baptize  their  children ; 
and  I  found  them  ripe  for  the  gospel. 

The  sight  of  so  many  children,  brought  to 
be  dedicated  to  God  in  baptism,  for  there 
were  scores  of  them,  deeply  interested  me.  I 
addressed  the  parents,  who  were  much  affect- 
ed, and  their  cries  so  increased  my  sensibili- 
ty that,  for  a  time,  my  power  of  speech  was 
wholly  suspended.  I  could  not,  by  any  ex- 
ertion I  could  make,  articulate  the  name  of 
the  child.  This  was  observed,  and  occasioned 
great  excitement  of  feeling  among  the  people. 
But  when  I  had  so  recovered  as  to  be  able  to 
proceed,  many  were  melted  into  tears. 

After  the  meeting  was  concluded,  many 
followed  me  to  the  house  where  I  went  to 
lodge.  At  night,  although  no  appointment  had 
been  given  out,  the  house  was  filled  with  peo- 
ple, and  I  could  not  decline  preaching  to 


164       MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS  WARE. 

them.  In  the  midst  of  my  discourse,  the 
mother  of  the  family  got  down  upon  her 
knees ;  and  such  was  her  state  of  feeling  that, 
in  that  attitude,  she  made  her  way  to  the 
table,  where  I  was  standing,  and  begged  me 
to  pray  for  her.  In  a  few  moments  the 
whole  congregation  was  in  commotion.  I  was 
alone,  much  exhausted,  and  unskilled  in  the 
management  of  such  a  work.  I,  however, 
continued  to  pray  and  exhort  till  midnight. 
The  work  advanced  ;  and  in  six  weeks  we 
had  a  society  in  this  place  of  eighty  members, 
mostly  heads  of  families.  This  event  I  have 
always  deemed  a  divine  sanction  of  infant 
baptism.  If  I  ever  witnessed  a  work  of  God 
among  any  people,  I  witnessed  it  here ;  and 
this  work  evidently  commenced  with  the  bap- 
tizing of  infant  children. 

My  second  year  in  this  section  was  on 
a  district,  consisting  of  eight  circuits,  em- 
bracing a  part  of  Virginia.  At  one  of  our 
quarterly  meetings  on  New  River,  a  reli- 
gious concern  was  waked  up  in  many,  which 
pervaded  a  large  district  of  country,  and 
suspended  for  many  weeks  almost  all  world- 
ly concerns.  In  one  family,  where  I  passed 
many  happy  days,  there  were  thirty  who 
claimed  to  be  born  again,  twelve  of  whom 
were  whites,  the  fruits  of  that  meeting.  This 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  165 

was  the  family  of  General  Bryan,  who  was 
a  barrister  at  law,  and,  previous  to  the  meet- 
ing, a  professed  deist.  His  lady  had  watched 
a  favourable  opportunity,  and  had  obtained  a 
promise  from  the  general  to  attend  her  to  the 
expected  quarterly  meeting.  When  the  day 
arrived,  the  coach  was  in  readiness  to  convey 
Mrs.  Bryan  to  the  meeting,  and  servants  to 
attend  her,  but  the  general  declined  going 
himself.  This  was  a  disappointment  that 
went  to  thte  heart,  for  she  had  said  she  would 
not  go  without  him.  After  a  little  pause,  she 
stepped  to  the  door  and  ordered  the  coach  to  be 
put  up,  and  then,  with  a  forced  smile,  said,  "  I 
must  forgive  you,  general,  this  ungentlemanly 
act,  as  it  is  the  first  I  have  had  to  complain 
of.  If  you,  sir,  can  lightly  get  over  your 
pledge,  I  cannot  get  over  mine.  I  have  said 
I  would  not  go  without  you ;"  adding,  "  If  my 
husband  was  a  Christian,  I  should  be  one  of 
the  happiest  of  women."  She  then  burst  into 
tears,  and  was  about  to  leave  the  room,  when 
the  general  caught  her  in  his  arms,  and  said, 
"  I  cannot  resist  the  eloquence  of  tears ;  dry 
them  up,  and  I  will  go." 

On  Sunday  morning  the  general  and  his 
lady  were  seated  again  in  the  congregation. 
Preaching,  with  short  intervals,  continued 
for  several  hours,  and  the  whole  assembly 


166  MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

were,  from  time  to  time,  bowed  down  like  the 
slender  reed  before  the  passing  breeze  ;  but 
none  of  them  as  yet  lost  their  elasticity.  Many 
hearts  seemed  bruised,  but  none  broken.  The 
last  that  spoke  melted  his  auditors  on  these 
affecting  words,  namely,  "  Which  none  of  the 
princes  of  this  world  knew,  far  had  they  known 
it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of 
glory"  Under  this  discourse  General  Bryan 
was  seen  to  weep,  and  when  the  collection 
was  made  many  wondered  much  to  see  him 
volunteer  in  making  it,  at  the  close  of  which 
he  asked  the  privilege  of  addressing  the  peo- 
ple, and,  having  mounted  the  stand,  spoke 
nearly  in  the  following  strain : — 

"  Fellow-citizens, — I  have  sometimes  trem- 
bled before  the  majesty  of  courts.  But  where 
am  I  now  ?  and  what  ?  An  advocate  ?  Yes  f 
Before  a  judge  weak  and  erring  like  myself  ? 
No,  but  before  the  Judge  eternal !  To  plead 
the  cause  of  truth  against  myself,  and  against 
many  of  you,  who,  like  myself,  have  crucified 
the  Lord  of  glory  !  Had  I  known  it,  I  would 
not  have  done  so  wickedly,  nor  would  you, 
nor  you,"  pointing  to  two  of  his  deistical  fra- 
ternity. "  You  see  my  tears  ;  they  are  tears 
of  penitential  grief,  for  myself  and  for  you, 
for  we  have  denied  the  Lord  that  bought  us 
with  his  own  blood. 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  167 

"  Ye  dear  heralds  of  the  gospel !  I  am  an 
advocate  for  Christ.  You  have  convinced  me. 
You  say,  when  the  Eternal  would  save  the 
world,  he  chose  a  way  known  only  to  himself. 
None  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew  it, 
and  they  could  not  until  it  was  told  them,  and 
then  they  would  not  believe !  So  neither 
would  I  until  you  melted  me  into  the  belief. 
Some  may  doubt  it,  but  I  know  God  has  sent 
you,  and  your  God  and  people  shall  be 
mine." 

During-  this  speech,  the  people  were  silent 
as  death,  save  now  and  then  a  sob  or  shriek ; 
but  now  a  loud  cry  arose,  and  continued  with 
many  until  the  going  down  of  the  sun;  and 
the  slain  of  the  Lord  were  many. 

General  Bryan  lived,  I  think,  not  quite  two 
years  after  this  happy  change ;  but  he  lived 
truly  an  advocate  for  Christ,  and  died  happy, 
lifting  his  arm  in  token  of  victory  when  his 
tongue  failed  to  articulate  words. 

During  my  labours  on  this  district,  I  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  some  of  the  most  devo- 
ted, holy,  zealous,  arid  faithful  people  I  ever 
knew.  Some  of  them  had  been  called  to 
pass  through  fiery  trials ;  and  their  steadfast- 
ness was  proverbial.  A  sister  Jones,  of  Meck- 
lenburg, was  a  remarkable  instance  of  this. 
She  was  a  person  of  superior  gifts  as  well  as 


168  MEMOIR   OP   REV.   THOMAS   WARE. 

grace ;  and  her  courage  and  perseverance  in 
the  service  of  the  Lord  constrained  all  who 
knew  her  to  acknowledge  her  deep  sincerity. 
Her  husband  cherished  the  most  bitter  and 
inveterate  prejudice  against  the  Methodists ; 
and,  being  naturally  a  man  of  violent  passions 
and  a  most  ungovernable  temper,  he,  by  his 
threats,  deterred  her,  for  a  time,  from  joining 
them.  Nor  did  he  stop  here,  but  positively 
forbade  her  going  to  hear  them.  Soon  after 
this,  Mr.  Easter,  a  man  remarkably  owned 
of  God,  and  a  favourite  preacher  of  Mrs. 
Jones,  was  to  preach  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Mrs.  Jones  told  her  husband  she  believed  it 
to  be  a  duty  which  she  owed  to  God  and  her- 
self to  go  and  hear  Mr.  Easter,  and  begged 
his  permission.  But  he  refused.  She  then 
said,  she  should  be  compelled,  from  a  sense 
of  obligation  to  a  higher  power,  to  disobey 
his  command.  At  this,  he  became  enraged, 
and,  in  his  fury,  swore,  if  she  did,  he  would 
charge  his  gun  and  shoot  her  when  she 
returned.  But  this  tremendous  threat  did  not 
deter  her.  During  preaching  she  was  re- 
markably blessed  and  strengthened ;  and,  on 
her  return,  met  her  infuriated  husband  at  the 
door,  with  his  gun  in  his  hand.  She  accosted 
him  mildly,  and  said,  "My  dear,  if  you  take 
my  life,  you  must  obtain  leave  of  my  heavenly 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  169 

Spouse ;"  and,  thus  saying,  approached  him 
and  took  the  deadly  weapon  out  of  his  hand, 
without  meeting  with  any  resistance. 

This  virulent  temper  God  in  due  time 
softened  and  subdued,  so  that  the  tiger  be- 
came a  lamb.  When  on  my  way  to  my  first 
quarterly  meeting  in  Mecklenburg  in  this  dis- 
trict, I  called  on  Mr.  Jones,  and  had  the  whole 
history  of  this  transaction  from  the  parties 
themselves,  who,  now  united  with  one  heart 
in  the  service  of  God,  accompanied  me  to  the 
meeting. 

On  Saturday  many  people  attended,  and 
great  power  was  manifested  during  the  public 
exercises.  On  Sunday  morning  the  love-feast 
was  appointed  to  commence  at  eight  o'clock. 
By  seven  the  house  was  nearly  full,  and 
many  were  prostrate  on  the  floor;  and  the 
surrounding  grove  was  made  vocal  by  the 
shouts  of  men,  women,  and  children,  as  they 
were  approaching  the  house,  some  of  whom 
were  supported  on  their  horses  by  those  who 
accompanied  them.  When  the  house  was 
filled,  those  who  could  not  get  in  were  en- 
gaged in  some  religious  exercise  without,  and 
numbers  were  slain  under  the  trees.  A  son 
of  Col.  Taylor,  of  Tar  River,  supported  by 
two  men,  went  about  among-  the  people, 
praising  God,  and  telling  them  what  the  Lord 

8 


170  MEMOIR    0V    REV.    THOMAS    WARE, 

had  done  for  his  soul ;  and  wherever  he  came 
they  were  melted  into  tears.  His  appearance 
was  sufficient  to  disarm  the  most  stout-hearted 
of  them.  As  to  preaching,  it  was  out  of  the 
question.  Nor  did  there  appear  to  be  any 
need  of  it ;  for  all  seemed  to  yield  to  the  gra- 
cious influence,  and  with  melting  hearts  to 
say,  "  This  is  the  work  of  God." 

Something  like  this  had  been  witnessed 
under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Boardman,  King, 
and  others ;  but  Mr.  Rankin,  Mr.  Wesley's 
general  assistant,  so  violently  opposed  it  that 
it  soon  declined.  This  circumstance  was  re- 
membered ;  and  all  who  were  the  real  friends 
of  experimental  religion  agreed  that  it  be- 
hooved us  to  let  the  Lord  work  in  his  own  way. 

A  little  before  I  was  called  to  bid  a  final 
adieu  to  North  Carolina,  I  was,  by  indisposi- 
tion, confined  at  the  house  of  a  very  aged 
couple,  who  had  no  children.  They  had  lived 
in  good  repute  as  Christians,  and  deemed 
themselves  such,  until  the  baptizing  in  the 
woods.  On  that  memorable  day  they  were 
brought  to  see  themselves  sinners,  without 
God  and  without  any  well-grounded  hope. 
They  were  the  first  who  offered  themselves 
for  membership  among  us ;  and  they  con- 
tinued to  adorn  their  profession  by  well- 
ordered  lives. 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE.  171 

They  had  given  me  many  demonstrations 
of  their  affectionate  regard  for  me ;  but  until 
this  visit  I  had  not  known  the  extent  of  it. 
Being  in  possession  of  a  farm  and  mill,  with 
other  property,  and  advanced  in  life,  they  de- 
sired me  to  write  their  will.  I  objected  on 
the  ground  of  not  understanding  the  form 
which  might  be  requisite.  They  said  their 
will  was  simple,  and  might  be  easily  drawn ; 
it  was,  that,  on  condition  of  my  remaining 
with  them  through  their  short  stay  in  this 
world,  all  they  had  should  be  mine.  This 
presented  a  strong  inducement  to  exchange  a 
life  of  poverty  and  toil  for  one  of  affluence 
and  ease.  Had  I  accepted  the  offer,  my  his- 
tory would  doubtless  have  been  very  different 
from  what  it  is.  But  I  could  not  do  it  with  a 
good  conscience ;  so  I  bid  them  and  North 
Carolina  adieu  for  ever,  and  returned  to  see 
my  friends  in  New- Jersey. 


172  MEMOIR    OF   REV.    THOMAS    WAKE. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Mr.  Ware  arrires  in  time  to  attend  the  conference  at  Phila- 
delphia— Is  appointed  to  Wilmington,  in  Delaware — Reflections 
upon  the  dealings  of  God  with  the  church  since  its  organiza- 
tion— The  prosperity  of  the  work — The  character  of  the 
preachers — The  doubts  among  the  preachers — Locations  and 
causes  of  them — The  effect  of  freqoent  locations  upon  the  gene- 
ral work — General  council — Barely  tried  and  abandoned — 
Success  in  ministerial  labours — Manner  of  condncting  them— 
Sabbath  schools — Difficulties  to  encounter  in  Wilmington— 
Preference  for  the  back  woods. 

HAVING  spent  two  years  very  pleasantly  in 
this  country,  and  witnessed  many  signal 
manifestations  of  the  power  and  grace  of 
God,  I  set  out  for  the  north.  During  my  six 
years'  absence  I  had  no  passionate  longings 
for  home ;  but  when  I  commenced  my  journey 
•with  a  view  of  visiting  it,  the  attraction,  like 
that  of  a  loadstone,  drew  me  lightly  over  the 
vast  tract  of  country  which  separated  me 
from  it ;  and  I  was  sometimes  led  to  exclaim, 
"  O  that  I  had  wings !" 

I  arrived  in  time  to  attend  the  Philadelphia 
conference  for  1791,  and  was  appointed  to 
Wilmington,  in  the  state  of  Delaware. 

At  this  point  it  is  natural  for  me  to  pause, 
and  review  the  past — the  spiritual  warfare  in 
which  we  have  been  engaged  as  a  body  of 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  173 

i 

Christian  ministers.  Seven  years  I  have  been 
engaged  in  this  cause.  Great  and  signal  has 
been  our  harmony  and  success.  In  many 
matters  there  may  have  been  slight  dif- 
ferences; but  in  every  thing  essential  we 
were  one;  and  believing  the  doctrines  of  a 
free  and  full  salvation,  and  that  God  raised 
up  the  Methodists  to  spread,  by  means  of 
these  doctrines,  evangelical  holiness  through 
the  land,  we  were  one  and  all  for  active  war. 
During  our  seven  years'  conflict  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  we  had  received  an  ac- 
cession of  sixty-seven  travelling  preachers, 
and  sixty-four  thousand  thirty-nine  members ; 
fifty-one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
whites,  and  twelve  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eighty-four  coloured. 

I  have  given  some  account  of  the  character 
and  progress  of  the  work  in  Maryland,  New- 
Jersey,  Long  Island,  Tennessee,  and  North 
Carolina,  where  I  was  called  to  bear  an 
humble  part  in  it ;  but  in  truth  in  almost  every 
part  of  the  United  States  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord  were  overcome  by  thousands  ;  for  the 
work  was  of  God,  and  who  can  contend  with 
the  King  of  kings,  while  the  instruments  he 
has  chosen  to  carry  on  his  work  are  faithful? 

Since  the  Christmas  conference,  we  have 
lost,  by  death  and  location,  many  skilful 


174  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

warriors  in  this  holy  cause.  The  first  that  fell 
in  the  field  was  Pedicord,  emphatically  the 
man  of  feeling.  The  next  was  the  grave, 
undaunted  Mair,  who  was  invincible  to  every 
thing  but  truth.  Then  the  dove-like  Lambert 
and  the  blameless  Thomas.  All  these  in 
two  years,  1785  and  1786.  The  third  year  we 
lost  none  who  were  in  full  membership  or  had 
a  seat  in  conference  when  the  church  was 
organized;  and  it  is  of  those  only  that  I 
speak.  There  were  many  local  preachers 
who  were  both  talented  and  eminently  useful ; 
but  I  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  larger 
proportion  of  them. 

In  1788  we  lost  four  by  death,  and  two  by 
what  was  worse  than  death.  These  two, 
whose  manner  of  leaving  the  work  it  is  pain- 
ful to  record,  were  men  who  stood  high  in 
rank  and  gifts.  "  What,"  said  one,  "  shall 
sing  the  dirge  or  perform  the  obsequies  of  a 
soul  intombed  V  I  would  say,  "  of  a  preacher 
lost !"  The  four  who  died  in  the  work  were 
burning  and  shining  lights.  I  knew  them  all 
personally,  except  one.  Curtis  and  Major 
were  adorned  with  artless  simplicity,  and 
armed  with  the  irresistible  eloquence  of  tears. 
But  which,  on  the  whole,  was  pre-eminent,  it 
is  difficult  to  tell  until  the  trophies  they  won 
shall  be  numbered  in  the  great  day. 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  175 

People  love  the  preacher  who  makes  them 
feel.  Hence  there  were  many  even  among 
the  unconverted  who  could  not  bear  to  hear  a 
whisper  against  either  of  these  sons  of  conso- 
lation. They  would  have  risked  their  lives 
to  rescue  them  from  insult  or  injury.  I  have 
seen  an  audience  sit  quietly  and  listen  to  a 
masterly  discourse,  without  a  tear  to  moisten 
the  eye  of  an  individual ;  and  then  Major,  by 
an  exhortation  of  five  minutes,  produce  such 
an  effect  that  all  seemed  to  melt  before  him, 
so  that  there  was  scarcely  a  dry  eye  in  the 
whole  assembly.  I  once  heard  this  good 
man,  when  the'  Methodists  principally  for 
forty  miles  around,  and  some  for  more  than 
fifty,  were  collected  at  a  quarterly  meeting, 
on  the  favoured,  peninsula.  His  text  was, 
"  Unto  you  who  believe  he  is  precious  ;"  and 
before  he  closed  his  pathetic  discourse  his 
voice  was  lost  in  the  cries  of  the  people ;  and  at 
the  close  of  the  meeting  we  had  occasion  to 
rejoice  over  many  sons  and  daughters,  re- 
deemed by  power  as  well  as  by  price. 

Woolman  Hickson,  distinguished  by  his 
thirst  for  knowledge,  both  human  and  divine, 
travelled  our  circuit  soon  after  I  became  a 
Methodist ;  and  from  his  excellent  example  I 
profited  much.  Few  men  among  us  ever  ob- 
served with  greater  exactness  "  the  rules  of  a 


176  MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

preacher,"  especially  these:  —  "Be  diligent. 
Never  be  unemployed.  Never  be  triflingly 
employed.  Be  serious.  Let  your  motto  be, 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord.  Avoid  all  lightness, 
jesting,  and  foolish  talking."  Having  a  strong 
and  discriminating  mind,  by  his  diligence  and 
application  according  to  these  rules,  he  could 
not  but  make  proficiency  both  in  gifts  and 
grace.  But  his  physical  powers  were  feeble; 
and  nothing  but  a  miracle,  with  the  exertion 
he  made,  could  save  him  from  an  early  grave. 
Accordingly  the  term  of  his  labours  was  short. 
But  to  such  a  man  as  Hickson  it  must  be 
"gain "to  "die." 

We  lost  a  number  also  by  location,  and 
some  of  them  eminently  distinguished  for 
their  talents,  experience,  and  usefulness. 

The  first  on  this  list,  after  the  organization 
of  the  church  in  1784,  was  Samuel  Row.  He 
had  travelled  five  years.  Three  desisted 
from  travelling  in  1785 ;  but  Row  was  the 
most  conspicuous  of  the  number.  He  was, 
while  with  us,  a  man  of  amiable  and  dignified 
manners,  both  as  a  Christian  and  a  minister. 
He  had  the  most  tenacious  and  retentive 
memory  of  any  man  I  ever  knew;  and  the 
use  he  had  made  of  this  noble  faculty  evinced 
that  the  bent  of  his  youthful  mind  had  been 
toward  piety.  He  thought,  as  he  used 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  177 

sometimes  to  say,  if  the  Bible  were  lost,  he 
could  replace  by  his  memory  the  four  Evan- 
gelists, the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  He  was  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  and  never 
did  I  hear  any  person  repeat  them  with  such 
effect.  He  was  much  admired  by  many  as  a 
preacher;  but  some  believed  he  dealt  too 
much  in  flowers  and  in  other  men's  thoughts. 
Caleb  Boyer  and  Ignatius  Pigman,  who 
commenced  travelling  in  1780,  located  in 
1788.  These  were  reckoned  among  the  first 
preachers.  They  were  esteemed  men  of 
superior  claims ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  there 
have  been  few  in  any  age  or  country  who 
could  extemporize  with  either  of  these  primi- 
tive Methodist  missionaries.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  in  preaching,  Boyer  .was  the  Paul,  and 
Pigman  the  A  polios,  of  the  Methodist  con- 
nection at  that  time.  When  Whatcoat  and 
Vasey  heard  them  at  the  Christmas  confer- 
ence, they  said  they  had  not  heard  their  equal 
in  the  British  connection,  except  Wesley  and 
Fletcher.  These  men,  who  copied  with  great 
fidelity  and  exactness  the  example  of  hu- 
mility and  self-devotion  set  by  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  were  held  in  high  estimation  by 

the  Methodists  of  1788.     It  was  accordingly 

8* 


178  MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

a  matter  of  much  grief  to  them  when  they 
abandoned  the  itinerant  ranks. 

The  sentiment,  at  this  period  of  our  history, 
was  prevalent,  that  those  preachers  who  had 
been  called,  by  the  grace  and  providence  of 
God,  into  the  itinerancy,  could  not,  innocently, 
abandon  it  unless  in  case  of  bodily  disability. 
It  would  have  been  well  for  the  people  if  they 
had  understood  their  duty  to  their  preachers 
as  well  as  they  professed  to  understand  the 
preachers'  duty  to  the  church  and  their  God. 
Some,  indeed,  did  ;  but  had  all  felt  the  force 
of  the  obligation  on  themselves  to  render  the 
preachers  a  comfortable  support,  as  they  saw 
the  duty  of  the  preachers  to  be  faithfuf  in 
their  work,  with  the  few  we  had  at  that  time, 
none  of  their  families  would  have  been  allow- 
ed to  suffer. 

With  the  small*  amount  allowed  by  Disci- 
pline, some  could  not  economize  to  support 
their  families.  To  retain  such  preachers  in 
the  travelling  connection,  provision  was  made 
to  allow  those  who  had  children,  sixteen  dol- 
lars for  every  one  under  six  years  of  age,  and 
twenty-one  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  for 
every  one  between  six  and  eleven.  With  this 
provision,  however,  many  of  our  people  were 
dissatisfied,  and,  in  1787,  it  was  rescinded. 
When  this  was  done,  Boyer  and  Pigman 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  179 

thought  it  their  duty  to  locate.  But  in  this  I 
have  always  thought  they  erred.  Had  they 
continued,  with  unabating  zeal,  in  the  work 
of  God,  he  would  have  given  them  friends, 
and  they  and  their  families  would  have  suffer- 
ed as  little,  perhaps,  as  they  were  destined  to 
in  a  local  capacity.  They  had  been  too  long 
abstracted  from  the  business  of  the  world  to 
return  to  it  with  encouragement  to  prosecute 
it  with  safety  and  success. 

Four  other  preachers  of  useful  talents, 
namely,  S.  Dudley,  William  Cannon,  .  M. 
Ellis,  and  Joseph  Wyatt,  were  returned  as 
having  a  partial  location.  These  excellent  men 
had  laboured  successfully,  and  suffered  much, 
in  the  blessed  cause  ;  and  they  never  should 
have  been  permitted  to  locate  for  want  of  the 
small  means  required  to  support  their  families, 
while  they  would  have  been  content  with 
such  support.  But  the  day  of  missionary  zeal 
had  only  begun  to  dawn  upon  the  people, 
while,  with  the  preachers,  the  sun  was  up 
and  at  its  zenith-"— for  there  has  been  no  day 
since  as  dark  and  tempestuous  to  them  as.  that 
which  had  now  gone  by. 

All  did  not  locate,  however,  on  account  of 
their  families.  Some  were  broken  down  with 
labour,  and  should  have  been  placed  upon  the 
supernumerary  list.  But,  at  that  time,  we  had 


180  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

none,  nor  until  1791,  when  I  proposed  that 
Henry  Willis  should  stand  in  that  relation  to 
the  conference.  Wyatt  was  among  those 
worn  down  by  labour.  Except  his  want  of 
physical  strength,  he  was  little  inferior  to  any 
among  us,  and,  in  purity,  perhaps  to  none. 
His  sermons  were  short,  but  composed  of  the 
best  materials,  and  delivered  in  the  most 
pleasing  manner.  He  was,  for  many  years, 
chaplain  to  the  Maryland  legislature. 

The  vacancies  made  in  the  itinerant  ranks 
by  locations  were  soon  filled  up  by  young 
men ;  and  the  work  of  the  Lord  went  on  and 
greatly  prospered  throughout  our  borders,  so 
that  we  became  less  sensible  of  the  loss  of 
those  who  had  been  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  pursuing  some  other  avocation  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  families,  and  of  our  obligations 
to  them.  Some  of  them  might  easily  have 
obtained  a  good  support  in  other  churches  ; 
for  in  however  contemptible  a  light  they  were 
held  while  labouring  as  Methodist  preachers, 
the  moment  any  of  respectable  talents  pro- 
posed leaving  and  going  over  to  others  they 
were  cordially  received.  But  few  of  the 
preachers  of  this  period  could  feel  themselves 
at  home  anywhere  but  among  the  Methodists. 

For  Mr.  Asbury  I  had  the  profoundest 
veneration,  and  was  often  touched  with  the 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  181 

affection  he  manifested  toward  me,  notwith- 
standing that,  against  some  things  in  which 
he  discovered  a  deep  interest,  I  continued  to 
cherish  an  opposite  opinion.  The  first  offence 
against  him,  of  which  I  was  conscious,  wras 
my  opposing  a  new  plan,  proposed  by  the 
bishops,  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  a  gene- 
ral conference,  by  instituting  a  general  coun- 
cil, to  consist  of  the  bishops  and  presiding 
elders.  The  first  plan  allowed  all  the  elders 
to  be  called ;  but  the  number  should  not  be  less 
than  nine.  The  council  should  have  power  to 
mature  every  thing,  and  must  be  unanimous  in 
recommending;  but  nothing  should  be  decisive 
until  approved  by  the  annual  conferences. 

The  loss  of  time  in  attending  the  general 
conference  was  great ;  to  which,  if  we  add 
the  expense  and  fatigue,  we  may  see  the  mo- 
tives that  influenced  the  bishops  to  propose  a 
council.  That  these  were  weighty  reasons, 
none  could  deny ;  and  an  unwillingness  to 
oppose  Bishop  Asbury  led  a  majority  of  the 
preachers  to  yield,  so  far  as  to  permit  the 
experiment  to.  be  made.  A  minority,  how- 
ever, opposed  it  from  the  first ;  and  I  happen- 
ed to  be  one  of  that  number.  I  had  ventured 
to  say,  if  there  must  be  a  council  to  consist 
of  bishops  and  presiding  elders,  the  latter 
should  be  chosen,  not  by  the  bishops,  but  by 


182  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

the  conferences,  and  every  thing  done  in  coun- 
cil should  be  by  a  simple  majority.  Much 
as  I  respected  our  superintendents,  for  one  I 
could  not  consent  to  give  them  a  negative 
on  all  future  proceedings.  I  was  not  disposed 
to  charge  the  projectors  of  the  plan  with  any 
other  than  the  purest  motives.  Others,  how- 
ever, I  was  persuaded,  would  do  so.  And, 
on  the  whole,  it  was  better,  in  my  opinion,  to 
abandon  the  council  altogether.  He  then 
gave  me  some  severe  rebukes ;  but,  neverthe- 
less, "appointed  me  a  presiding  elder.  The 
experiment  of  a  council  wras  made  ;  but,  after 
its  second  meeting,  it  was  abandoned  for  ever. 
Eight  years  had  now  elapsed  since  I  enter- 
ed the  itinerant  field,  and  I  still  remained  sin- 
gle, and  held  myself  at  liberty  to  go  wherever 
I  might  be  appointed.  As  Bishop  Asbury 
was  never  married,  he  was  thought  to  have  a 
partiality  for  those  preachers  who  followed 
his  example,  and  might  hold  me  in  some 
higher  estimation  on  that  account.  But  with 
those  preachers  who  married  prudently,  he 
found  no  fault.  Nor  had  the  preachers'  wives 
cause  to  complain  of  any  want  of  attention  or 
Idndness  toward  them  from  the  bishop.  On 
the  contrary,  he  uniformly  manifested  a 
paternal  tenderness  and  solicitude  for  their 
welfare. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE  183 

Next  to  Mr.  Wesley,  Bishop  Asbury  was 
the  most  unwearied  itinerant  the  world  ever 
saw.  No  man  I  ever  knew  cherished  a 
higher  Christian  regard  for  the  female  cha- 
racter than  he ;  yet,  for  the  sake  of  the  itine- 
rancy, he  chose  a  single  life,  and  was  doubt- 
less well  pleased  with  those  preachers  who, 
for  the  same  reason,  followed  his  example. 

At  the  close  of  the  several  conferences  for 
1790,  we  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  that 
there  had  been  gathered  into  the  fold  more 
than  fourteen  thousand,  a  greater  number 
than  had  crowned  the  labours  of  any  pre- 
ceding year.  But  there  were  many  lambs  of 
the  flock,  and  the  question  occurred,  "  What 
can  be  done  for  these  ?" 

We  had  made  it  a  point,  in  visiting  families, 
to  attend  especially  to  the  children,  to  con- 
verse with  them  about  Jesus,  and  to  impress 
upon  the  minds  of  parents  the  importance  of 
a  religious  care  for  the  spiritual  health  of  their 
offspring.  We  now  resolved,  as  the  heart  of 
one  man,  to  establish  Sunday  schools.  Our 
impression  was,  that  by  these,  many,  very 
many,  of  the  rising  generation  might  be  se- 
cured on  the  side  of  virtue  and  religion.  But 
we  erred  in  confining  the  benefits  of  these 
schools  chiefly  to  the  poor,  and  to  the 
acquisition  of  human  learning.  Our  sue- 


184  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

cess  was  not,  therefore,  commensurate  with 
our  confident  expectations.* 

During  the  year  before  last,  (1789,)  Gill 
left  us  to  sorrow,  not  on  his  account,  but  our 
own.  His  death  was  truly  that  of  a  righteous 
man.  After  witnessing  a  good  confession, 
leaning  upon  the  bosom  of  his  God,  he  closed 
his  own  eyes,  and  sweetly  fell  asleep.  This 
was  characteristic  of  the  man.  Was  it  not 
saying  to  spectators,  "  See  how  assured  I  am 
that  all  is  well?" 

And  now,  1790,  intelligence  was  brought  to 
the  conference  that  Tunnell  also  was  among 
the  dead,  and  that  he  was  no  less  tranquil  in 
his  death  than  in  his  life.  I  have  said  that 
Jonathan  and  David  were  not  more  ardently 
attached  to  each  other,  than  were  Tunnell 
and  Gill.  What  raptures  must  they  have 
felt  at  meeting  in  their  Father's  house  above  ! 
Few  purer  spirits,  I  verily  believe,  ever  inha- 
bited tenements  of  clay. 

We  lost  this  year,  also,  by  location,  three 
who  were  members  of  the  Christmas  con- 
ference. They  were  all  gifted  and  successful 
labourers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  Henry 
Willis,  however,  stood  pre-eminent.  I  knew 

*  Standing  where  I  now  do,  and  looking  back  on  the  last 
forty  years,  I  wonder  that  we  did  not  see  at  once  the  necessity 
of  forming  a  Sunday-school  union. 


MEMOIR   OF   REV.   THOMAS   WARE.  185 

him  well.  He  was  a  manly  genius,  and  very 
intelligent.  He  well  understood  theology, 
and  was  a  most  excellent  man  and  minister. 
His  life,  as  a  travelling  and  local  preacher, 
and  a  supernumerary,  was,  I  believe,  un- 
blemished. I  followed  him  to  the  south  as 
far  as  North  Carolina,  to  the  east  as  far  as 
New- York,  and  to  the  west  as  far  as  Holston ; 
and  found  his  name  dear  to  many  of  the  ex- 
cellent of  the  earth.  His  physical  powers, 
however,  were  not  sufficient  to  sustain  the 
ardour  of  his  mind.  But  of  this  he  was  often 
wholly  unmindful,  until  his  bow  nearly  lost 
its  elasticity,  when  a  local  or  supernumerary 
relation  became  inevitable. 

Thus  briefly  surveying  some  of  the  promi- 
nent features  of  the  work  during  the  seven 
years  that  were  past,  I  commenced  my  la- 
bours in  Wilmington.  This  was  my  first 
station ;  but  I  sighed  for  the  back  woods, 
which  were  a  paradise  to  me,  compared  with 
this  suffocating  borough,  infected  with  a  mys- 
tical miasm,  on  the  subject  of  religion,  which 
had  a  deleterious  effect  on  many,  and  espe- 
cially on  the  youth.  They  had  imbibed  this 
moral  poison  until  it  broke  out  in  supercilious 
contempt  of  all  who  were  by  one  class  de- 
nounced as  hirelings  and  will-worshippers, 
and  by  another  as  free  willers  and  perfection- 


186  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

ists.  Hence  the  house  in  which  we  worshipped 
was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  those  sons  of 
Belial  night  after  night,  while  there  were 
scarcely  fifty  within;  and  such  were  their 
character  and  conduct  that  females  were 
afraid  to  attend  our  meeting  at  night,  and  we 
had  no  alternative  but  to  commence  service 
in  time  to  dismiss  the  congregation  before 
dark.  Gladly  would  I  have  exchanged  this, 
my  first  station,  for  the  western  woods.  I 
had,  however,  the  pleasure  of  numbering 
among  those  of  my  charge  some  of  the  excel- 
lent of  the  earth,  and  much  satisfaction  in 
marking  their  growth  in  grace. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

In  1792  Mr.  Ware  is  appointed  to  Staten  Island,  in  the  state 
of  New-York — Remains  on  this  circuit  but  a  short  time — Is 
appointed  to  the  Susquehanna  district — Extent  of  his  district — 
Moral  destitution  of  the  people  in  the  remote  parts  of  his  dis- 
trict— Anecdote  of  a  young  man  pretending  to  be  a  preacher — 
Interview  with  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church — 
Ignorance  of  the  people  of  his  charge  on  the  subject  of  religion 
— Introduction  of  Methodist  preaching  into  his  neighbourhood — 
The  effect  of  it. 

IN  the  spring  of  1792,  I  was  appointed  to 
Staten  Island,  where  I  laboured  a  short  time 
with  much  satisfaction  and  some  success; 
and  then  took  charge  of  the  Susquehanna 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  187 

district.  From  this  time  to  1808,  I  continued 
to  fill  this  very  laborious  office,  which  was,  I 
believe,  a  longer  time  in  regular  succession 
than  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  man 
since  we  became  a  church. 

My  district  embraced  only  six  circuits;  but 
between  two  of  them,  Flanders  and  Wyoming, 
the  way  on  the  Susquehanna  was  dreary 
enough;  and  from  thence  to  Tioga,  all  but 
impassable,  especially  in  winter.  The  first 
time  I  attempted  this  tour  in  the  winter,  when 
I  came  to  the  mountain  through  which  the 
river  passes,  the  road  being  full  of  ice,  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  it ;  so  I  had  no  alternative 
but  to  turn  back  and  take  the  ice  in  the  river. 
I  was  afterward  told  that  it  was  believed  no 
person  had  ever  passed  the  dangerous  defile 
in  this  way  before.  In  several  places  there 
were  chasms  in  the  ice  of  several  feet  in 
width  running  nearly  across  the  river,  occa- 
sioned by  the  water's  falling  until  the  ice, 
resting  upon  the  ridges  of  rocks  underneath, 
was  broken.  Over  these  my  horse  had  to 
leap.  But  a  greater  danger  arose  from  the 
wearing  of  the  ice  by  the  current  below,  so 
that  in  some  places  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen. 
Protected  by  a  kind  Providence,  however,  I 
passed  safely  through. 

At  this  time  none  seemed  to  care  for  these 


188  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

poor  people  in  the  wilderness,  except  the 
Methodists.  One  man,  indeed,  did  visit  Tioga, 
who  pretended  to  instruct  the  people  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  though  not  much  to  their 
benefit.  After  hearing  the  preacher  who  la- 
boured in  that  part,  he  rose  up  and  told  the 
people  he  had  some  objections  to  the  doctrine 
they  had  heard.  That  doctrine  to  which  he 
was  particularly  opposed  was,  the  possibility 
of  final  apostacy,  or  falling  from  grace.  He 
said  he  perceived  the  preacher  did  not  under- 
stand the  original,  or  he  would  not  have 
quoted  and  applied  Scripture  as  he  did ;  and 
he  recited  several  passages  which  he  had 
quoted,  stating  how  they  read  in  the  original 
Greek.  When  he  was  done,  the  preacher, 
who  was  familiar  with  the  low  Dutch,  replied 
that  the  gentleman  had  made  a  small  mistake, 
for  it  was  not  Greek,  but  low  Dutch,  in  which 
he  had  been  speaking.  "No,"  replied  one, 
"  it  is  no  mistake,  but  a  contemptible  imposi- 
tion ;  for  I  understand  the  Greek,  and  the 
fellow  has  not  uttered  one  word  in  that  lan- 
guage." He  called  himself  a  Baptist  preach- 
er, but  was  doubtless  an  impostor. 

At  this  time  we  had  much  to  contend  with 
from  the  opposition  which  prejudice  had  every 
where  raised  against  us  and  our  doctrines. 
The  following  is  an  example  of  it.  While 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  189 

travelling  on  this  district,  I  one  day  fell  in 
with  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
by  the  name  of  Benscoter.*  I  was  passing  a 
public  house  where  he  was,  on  my  way  to 
Wyoming;  and  he  mounted  his  horse  and 
overtook  me.  On  coming  up  he  inquired  if  I 
was  not  a  missionary.  I  replied  that  I  was 
a  Methodist,  and  we  were  all  missionaries. 
Observing  that  he  was  surveying  me  very 
closely,  I  said,  "I  presume,  sir,  you  have  not 
much  knowledge  of  the  Methodists."  He  re- 
plied, "  I  know  enough  of  them  to  know  that 
they  hold  egregious  errors."  "Do  they,  in- 
deed," said  I,  "then  they  are  greatly  to  be 
pitied."  He  replied,  with  much  sternness, 
"  They  are  greatly  to  be  blamed ;  for  if  I  am 
rightly  informed,  and  I  believe  I  am,  they  are 
not  only  unlearned  men,  but  despise  learning, 
and  are  altogether  incompetent  to  teach  men 
the  science  of  salvation."  *  "In  one  thing,  sir," 
said  I,  "you  are  misinformed.  We  do  not 
despise  learning ;  on  the  contrary  we  hold  it 
to  be  desirable.  But  we  do  not  deem  it  an 
essential  qualification  of  a  gospel  minister. 
Grace,  rather  than  human  learning,  qualifies 
a  man  to  preach.  St.  Paul  was  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  day ;  and  he  acknow- 

*  Van  Bcnschoten,  probably,  contracted  by  common  use  into 
Benscoter. — EDITOR. 


190  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

ledged  that  his  qualifications  to  preach  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  were  the  gift 
of  God.  But,  sir,  as  you  have  the  advantages 
of  age  and  education,  and  I  am  comparatively 
young,  and  make  no  pretensions  to  classical 
learning,  be  so  good  as  to  point  out  to  me  my 
errors."  "You,"  said  he,  "have  embraced 
the  creed  of  Arminius,  with  the  addition  of 
the  blasphemous  article  of  falling  from  grace. 
This  I  hold  to  be  the  quintessence  of  error." 
I  replied  that  we  did  hold  it  possible  for  a  re- 
generated person  to  fall  away  and  perish; 
and  that  we  thought  ourselves  supported  in 
this  opinion  by  the  Scriptures,  to  the  testimony 
of  which  we  were  willing  to  appeal ;  but  as 
this  could  not  be  conveniently  done  on  the 
road,  I  should  be  pleased  to  hear  from  him 
on  what  he  founded  his  views  of  the  impecca- 
bility of  the  saints.  "  On  what  I  found  it !" 
said  he,  "why,  on -the  unchangeableness  of 
God."  "  Do  I  understand  you,  Mr.  B.,"  said 
I,  "to  affirm  that  such  is  the  unchangeable- 
ness  of  God,  that  his  love,  once  placed  on  a 
creature,  can  never  be  detached  from  that 
creature,  and  that  to  say  it  can,  is  the  blas- 
phemy with  which  you  charge  us  ?"  He  said 
he  claimed  to  be  so  understood.  I  then  asked 
him  whether,  when  God  made  the  angels,  his 
love  was  not  placed  upon  them — whether  he 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  191 

did  not  love  them  ?  "  Angels !  sir,"  he  replied : 
"  angels  never  had  the  promise  made  to 
Christians."  "That  I  grant,  sir,"  I  said,  "but 
did  he  not  love  them  at  all?"  "Jesus  took 
not  upon  him  the  nature  of  angels,"  was  the 
answer.  "I  know  that,  sir,"  I  continued,  "but 
did  not  God  love  all  the  angels  when  he  called 
them  into  being  ?  You  say  the  love  of  God 
can  never  be  detached  from  a  being  on  which 
it  is  once  placed ;  and  I  wish  to  know  if  the 
love  of  God  was  not  once  placed  on  those  who 
are  now  in  chains  under  darkness,  reserved 
unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day?'  "You 
are  a  bold,  adventurous  young  man,"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  "  and  doubtless  think  you 
have  placed  me  in  a  dilemma  out  of  which  I 
cannot  extricate  myself."  I  told  him  if  he 
did  not  feel  that  he  was  in  a  dilemma,  I 
thought  he  would  not  hesitate  to  answer  my 
question,  which  could  be  done  in  a  word. 
"And  what,"  said  he,  "if  I  should  say  he  loves 
them  still,  as  his  creatures  ?"  "  I  would  ask 
you,"  I  replied,  "to  explain  to  me  how  God 
can  love  devils !  Can  he  love  their  nature  ? 
Surely  not.  Can  he  love  their  persons,  and 
yet  hold  them  in  chains  under  darkness  ?  This 
is  a  strange  token  of  his  love.  If  he  does  still 
love  them^it  is  a  plain  dictate  of  common 
sense  that  he  will  restore  them  to  communion 


192  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

with  himself;  and  if  devils  will  be  restored, 
doubtless  all  wicked  men  will  be  also,  and 
hell-redemption  is  true."  Here  Mr.  B.  inter- 
rupted me,  and  said  with  an  air  of  contempt, 
"I  perceive  it  is  useless  to  converse  with  a 
man  who  cannot  draw  a  just  conclusion  from 
self-evident  premises."  So  we  parted.  Mr.  B. 
did  me  great  honour  by  warning  the  people 
against  me,  as  one  who  would,  if  it  were  pos- 
sible, deceive  the  very  elect.  Mr.  B.'s  parish 
was  very  much  secluded  from  the  surrounding 
settlements.  It  was  separated  from  them  by 
mountains  which  were  difficult  to  pass  over; 
and  being  the  regularly  settled  minister  in 
that  place,  which  was  inhabited  almost  entire- 
ly by  Low  Dutch  people,  who  have  always 
been  proverbial  for  the  deference  they  pay  to 
their  ministers,  he  held  an  unlimited  sway 
over  them  in  religious  matters.  And  this  he 
seemed  determined  to  improve  to  his  own  ad- 
vantage. But  he  overdid  the  matter.  The 
Methodists  had  been  kept  out  of  the  valley  by 
the  assiduity  of  the  minister  and  his  particu- 
lar friends,  until  the  following  circumstance 
occurred.  Mr.  B.  was  called  on  by  one  of  his 
poor  parishioners  to  baptize  his  child.  He 
however  deferred  it  in  a  way  to  satisfy  the 
poor  man  that  it  would  not  be  done  until  the 
accustomed  fee  of  fifty  cents  should  be  paid 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  193 

him.  This  gave  offence  to  the  person  con- 
cerned, and  he  invited  a  Methodist  preacher 
to  preach  at  his  house  and  baptize  his  child. 
This  sorely  afflicted  Mr.  B.,  especially  as  it 
soon  became  evident  to  him  that  the  people 
did  not  consider  these  preachers  altogether  so 
incompetent  as  he  had  represented  them  to 
be,  or  at  least  that  they  could  understand 
them,  and  many  closed  in  with  their  doctrine. 
And  his  disquietude  on  account  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  dreadful  heresy  of  Methodism, 
as  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  calling  it,  into 
his  parish,  was  by  no  means  lessened  when 
some  of  his  people  told  him  plainly,  that  if 
what  he  had  so  long  preached  to  them  were 
true,  they  stood  as  good  a  chance  to  be  saved 
among  the  Methodists  as  ^ny  where  else. 
Having  said  so  much  about  the  ignorance  of 
the  Methodist  preachers,  and  their  incompe- 
tency  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  doctrines 
of  divine  revelation,  when  they  had  obtained 
a  footing  in  the  valley,  Mr.  B.  seemed  to  con- 
sider it  necessary  to  become  a  little  more 
active  in  instructing  his  own  flock.  Indeed, 
there  was  need  enough  that  something  should 
be  done  to  instruct  the  inhabitants  of  this  val- 
ley. I  passed  through  it  every  quarter,  on 
my  way  to  Wyoming,  and  had  an  opportunity 

of  knowing  something  respecting  them;  and 
9 


194  MEMOIR   OP    REV.  THOMAS    WARE. 

I  verily  believe  I  never  Knew  a  people  more 
grossly  ignorant  in  matters  of  religion  than 
many  of  them  were.  Mr.  B.,  in  adopting 
measures  to  instruct  his  parishioners,  esta- 
blished something  like  a  Bible-class,  in  which 
adults  as  well  as  children  were  admitted ;  and 
it  was  told  me  as  a  fact  by  one  whose  vera- 
city I  had  no  reason  to  suspect,  that  when  he 
asked  an  elderly  woman  in  the  class  who 
was  the  oldest  man,  she  replied  that  she  did 
not  know,  but  she  believed  in  her  soul  it  must 
be  old  Hans  Brooks.  Such  had  been  the 
benefits  the  people  had  received  from  being 
trained  up  under  the  man  who  claimed  to  be 
a  competent  religious  instructor,  and  who  had 
liberally  denounced  the  Methodist  preachers 
as  incompetent.  But  the  people  would  judge 
for  themselves.  And  Methodist  preaching, 
after  it  obtained  an  introduction  into  the 
place,  was  listened  to  by  many  with  respect 
and  profit,  and  has  been  productive  of  great 
good  to  that  secluded  people. 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  195 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

In  the  spring  of  1793  Mr.  Ware  takes  charge  of  the  Albany 
district — Account  of  an  impostor  assuming  his  name — His  de- 
tection and  exposure — State  of  the  country  in  many  parts  of 
the  district — Pecuniary  sufferings  of  some  of  the  preachers — 
Success  of  the  work — Revival  commenced  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  a  woman — Opposition  from  the  established  deno- 
minations— How  met  and  managed — Account  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  Methodism  into  New-England  by  Rev.  Jesse  Lee — Some 
of  the  first  preachers  in  this  work — Hope  Hull — Daniel  Smith 
— The  effect  of  their  labours — Annoyances  to  the  preachers  by 
the  practice  of  attacking  them  on  the  subject  of  doctrine,  after 
preaching — The  preachers  in  the  district  innocent,  unassuming 
men — Thoughts  on  the  subject  of  providing  for  the  comfortable 
support  of  the  preachers,  especially  when  superannuated,  and 
thereby  preventing  so  frequent  locations. 

IN  the  spring  of  1793  I  took  charge  of  the 
Albany  district.  This  district  was  constituted 
of  ten  circuits,  and  embraced  a  portion  of  four 
states,  namely,  New- York,  Connecticut,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  Vermont. 

Soon  after  I  got  within  the  bounds  of  the 
district,  I  met  on  the  road  one  of  the  preachers 
who  had  not  attended  the  conference ;  and 
although  he  had  never  seen  me  before,  he 
introduced  himself  as  if  he  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  me.  On  my  informing  him 
where  his  appointment  was,  he  said,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  "  My  dear  brother,  I  cannot 
go.  I  have  paid  all  the  little  demands  against 


196  MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

me,  and  am  now  left  pennyless."  I  replied, 
"  Cheer  up,  my  brother,  here  are  six  dollars, 
for  which  I  will  never  ask  you.  They  will 
bear  your  expenses  to  your  circuit."  He  took 
them,  and  I  saw  him  no  more. 

When  I  came  to  Albany,  I  found  there  a 
preacher  who  had  not  attended  the  conference, 
and  whom  I  had  never  before  seen.  When  I 
told  him  my  name,  and  that  I  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  Mr.  Garrettson  on  their  district,  he 
seemed  embarrassed.  After  a  while  he  said, 
"  It  will  not,  I  presume,  offend  you,  if  I  give 
you  my  reasons  for  requesting  to  see  your 
credentials.  About  this  time  last  year  a  man 
came  to  this  place,  and  told  us  that  his  name 
was  Thomas  Ware — that  Bishop  Asbury  had 
sent  him  on  from  the  south  with  directions  to 
report  himself  to  Jesse  Lee,  and  that  on  his 
way  he  had  lost  his  horse,  and  had  been  ad- 
vised to  come  to  Albany,  presuming  that  he 
might  find  Mr.  Garrettson  there,  who,  he  had 
been  told,  would  help  him  on  to  Mr.  Lee.  By 
walking,  he  said,  and  carrying  his  bundle,  he 
had  overheated  himself  and  taken  a  violent 
cold,  so  that  his  voice  had  been  for  some  time 
quite  gone,  and  he  was  still  unable  to  preach, 
or  even  pray  in  family  devotion.  Your  name 
we  had  often  seen  in  the  Minutes;  and  as 
nis  appearance  was  decent,  we  were  too 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  197 

delicate  and  tender  of  his  feelings  to  ask  him 
for  his  credentials.  We  accordingly  assisted 
him  by  making  some  collection  for  him,  and 
then  directed  him  to  Mr.  Garrettson.  In  a 
few  days  after  he  departed  I  became  uneasy, 
and  set  out  in  pursuit  of  him ;  and  on  my  ar- 
rival at  Rhinebeck,  ascertained  that  he  had 
been  there,  and  they  had  made  a  collection 
for  him.  But  he  had  left  that  for  some  other 
place." 

When  he  was  done,  I  told  him  that  I  had 
heard  of  this  impostor  before.  He  went  on 
for  a  while  without  be'ing  detected.  But  on 
one  occasion  he  met  a  preacher  on  the  road 
who  knew  me,  and  reported  himself  to  him, 
assuming  my  name.  The  preacher  imme- 
diately challenged  him  as  an  impostor,  and 
threatened  on  arriving  at  the  next  .town  to 
have  him  arrested.  He  was  well  mounted, 
and,  on  hearing  this  threat,  put  whip  to  his 
horse.  Brother  Merrick,  the  preacher  who 
detected  him,  pursued  him  for  some  time,  but 
finally  gave  over  the  chase,  and  he  was  heard 
of  no  more. 

My  venerable  predecessor,  the  Rev.  Free- 
born  Garrettson,  had  greatly  interested  him- 
self for  Albany,  which  is  the  metropolis  of 
the  state  of  New- York,  and  had  succeeded  in 
erecting  a  small  church  there.  But  the  time 


198  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE 

of  much  fruit  was  not  yet.  My  district  was 
immensely  large,  and  the  country  principally 
new.  Accommodations  for  the  preachers 
were,  for  the  more  part,  poor ;  and  the  means 
of  their  support  exceedingly  limited.  While 
passing  through  one  of  the  circuits,  soon  after 
I  came  on  the  district,  I  called  at  the  preach- 
er's house.  He  happened  at  that  time  to  be 
at  home.  It  was  near  noon,  and  I  of  course 
must  dine  with  him.  He  had  a  wife  and 
seven  children ;  and  our  bill  of  fare  was  one 
blackberry  pie,  with  rye  crust,  without  either 
butter  or  lard  to  shorten  it.  After  we  had 
dined,  when  I  was  about  to  depart,  I  put  a 
few  dollars  into  the  hands  of  this  poor  bro- 
ther, who,  on  receiving  them,  sat  down  and 
wept  so  heartily  that  I  could  not  avoid  weep- 
ing with  him. 

The  Lord  was  with  us  in  a  very  glorious 
manner,  -at  some  of  our  quarterly  meetings, 
during  the  first  quarter ;  and  there  appeared 
to  be  a  general  expectation  that  he  would  do 
still  greater  things  for  us  throughout  the  vast 
field  we  had  to  cultivate.  Here,  as  in  Ten- 
nessee, there  were  multitudes  of  people  wholly 
destitute  of  the  gospel,  until  it  was  brought  to 
them  by  the  Methodists.  The  means  of  their 
introduction  into  different  places  were  vari- 
ous ;  but  always  such  as  evidently  indicated 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  199 

that  the  finger  of  God  was  in  it.  In  one  re- 
mote settlement  there  were  about  twenty 
families,  who,  to  use  the  language  of  the 
messenger  that  invited  us  to  preach  to  them, 
had  been  destitute  of  both  law  and  gospel. 
"  We  had,"  said  he,  "  a  number  of  us  lived 
like  atheists,  until  last  spring.  Then  there 
came  a  few  families  in  among  us,  and  with 
them  an  old  lady  who  had  heard  the  Methodists 
preach,  and  often  told  us  that  they  would 
come  and  preach  for  us  if  they  were  invited. 
We  had  not,  as  yet,  any  civil  officers  ;  and  to 
most  of  us  all  days  were  alike.  At  length 
this  woman  persuaded  a  number  of  her  friends 
to  meet  at  her  house,  telling  them  that  a 
young  man  who  could  read  well  Would  read  the 
Scriptures  or  some  good  book  for  them,  and 
they  would  sing  hymns  together,  &c.,  for  she 
said  it  was  a  shame  for  us  to  live  so  much  like 
heathens.  This  was  done  on  the  sabbath ; 
and  at  the  close  of  the  first  meeting,  they 
agreed  to  assemble  again  on  the  next  sabbath. 
When  the  time  came,  almost  all  the  people  in 
the  settlement  were  present.  This  so  alarm- 
ed the  young  man  that  he  refused  to  read ; 
nor  could  any  other  person  be  persuaded  to 
read,  or  give  out  a  hymn.  At  length  the  wo- 
man, at  whose  house  they  were  assembled, 
began  to  weep,  and  many,  moved  by  feelings 


200  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

of  sympathy,  wept  with  her.  She  then  fell 
on  her  knees,  and  cried  to  the  Lord  to  have 
mercy  on  her  and  her  neighbours  ;  and  soon 
almost  all  in  the  house  were  on  their  knees 
crying  aloud,  '  Save,  Lord,  or  we  perish.' 
Thus  they  continued  to  call  upon  the  Lord 
until  he  came  to  the  relief  of  some  of  them, 
and  turned  their  mourning  into  joy." 

This,  the  man  said,  was  one  of  the  most 
affecting  scenes  he  ever  witnessed.  "  Since 
that  memorable  day,"  added  he,  "  we  have 
spent  much  of  our  time  together  in  reading 
the  Bible  and  prayer.  We  wish  to  be  united 
in  Christian  fellowship,  and  have  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord  administered  among  us." 
A  preacher  was  accordingly  sent  to  them. 

In  Granville  and  Pittsfield,  the  current  of 
opposition  was  very  strong  against  us.  In 
these  parts  religious  societies  were  systemati- 
cally organized,  and  sustained  by  law.  With 
churches  in  the  centre  of  their  towns  and  pa- 
rishes, they  prided  themselves  on  having  a 
learned,  competent  ministry,  whom,  they  sup- 
ported by  a  tax  upon  the  people.  But  with  all 
their  boast  of  learning  and  competency,  I  found 
many  of  the  clergy  in  these  parts  so  far  from 
being  really  great  men,  that  I  soon  lost  all 
fear  of  them. 

The  preacher  on  the  Pittsfield  circuit  called, 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE.  201 

on  his  way  to  an  appointment,  at  a  public 
house  to  feed  his  horse.  The  inn-keeper, 
perceiving  that  he  was  a  Methodist  preacher, 
said  to  him,  "  How  is  it  that  you  Methodists 
skulk  into  the  dark  corners  and  retired  places 
to  preach,  and  do  not  show  yourselves  in  our 
towns  and  principal  places,  that  we  may  hear 
you  and  judge  for  ourselves  ?"  The  preacher 
replied,  "You  are  so  priest-ridden  that  none 
of  you  dare  to  open  your  doors  to  us." 
"  Well,"  said  the  man,  "  you  shall  not  have 
that  to  say  again.  Tell  me  when  you  will 
preach  here,  and  if  the  meeting-house  cannot 
be  had,  you  shall  preach  in  my  parlour."  So 
the  arrangement  was  made  for  an  appoint- 
ment, and  the  meeting-house  opened.  At  the 
close  of  the  sermon,  the  preacher  said  that, 
with  permission,  he  would  give  out  an  ap- 
pointment for  the  presiding  elder  to  preach 
there,  when,  he  presumed,  he  would  dwell  on 
the  peculiarities  of  Methodism,  and  then  they 
could  hear  and  judge  for  themselves.  The 
preacher,  having  made  the  appointment,  met 
me  and  gave  me  information  of  what  he  had 
done  ;  but  I  was  far  from  being  pleased. 
When  the  time  arrived,  we  found  the  house 
well  filled,  and  the  minister  of  the  parish  pre- 
sent ;  and  it  was  quite  apparent  that  much 
interest  was  felt  by  the  people. 
9* 


202  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  seemed  neces- 
sary, as  in  those  times  Methodist  preachers, 
in  going  into  new  places,  generally  found  it,  to 
suit  the  discourse  to  the  occasion,  and  not 
disappoint  the  expectation  of  the  people.  I 
had  learned  the  state  of  public  opinion,  or  at 
least  the  views  of  those  who  were  attached  to 
the  standing  order,  as  the  Congregationalists 
in  New-England  were  called,  respecting  us 
and  our  preaching.  But  a  short  time  before 
this  meeting,  I  had  a  conversation  with  a  dea- 
con, or  principal  officer  of  the  church,  who 
expressed  himself  without  any  apparent  dis- 
guise or  restriction  on  this  subject.  "  My  ad- 
vice to  you,  sir,"  said  he,  "  and  to  your  itine- 
rant brethren,  is,  to  go  home ;  or,  at  least,  to 
desist  from  disturbing  the  order  of  things 
among  us.  We  want  none  of  your  instruc- 
tion ;  and,  indeed,  you  are  not  competent  to 
instruct  us.  You  make  the  people  commit 
sin  in  the  loss  of  so  much  precious  time  as  is 
wasted  in  attending  your  meetings  on  week 
days  when  they  ought  to  be  at  labour  ;  or,  on 
the  sabbath,  in  leaving  the  places  where  they 
ought  to  worship  to  run  after  you.  We  have 
learned  and  able  ministers,  and  all  the  neces- 
sary means  of  grace  among  us,  and  we  do 
very  well  without  you.  Why,  then,  do  you 
trouble  yourselves  about  us  ?" 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  203 

Such  views,  I  ascertained,  pretty  generally 
prevailed,  and  were  employed,  with  a  constant 
cry  of  heresy,  &c.,  to  prejudice  the  public- 
mind  against  us.  I  accordingly  endeavoured 
to  suit  my  remarks  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  ;  and  for  this  purpose  selected  the  words 
of  our  Lord  to  Martha,  Luke  x,  41,  42  :  "  Mar- 
iha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled 
about  many  things  ;  but  one  thing  is  needful ; 
And  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part  which 
rthall  not  be  taken  away  from  her." 

I  proceeded  to  say  that  the  Saviour  re- 
proved with  great  tenderness  the  kind-hearted 
but  not  altogether  faultless  Martha,  and  com- 
mended her  more  devout  and  amiable  sister. 
"  Your  attention,"  said  I,  "  is  invited  to  a 
consideration  of  the  characters  of  these  two 
amiable  sisters  as  they  are  exhibited  in  the 
text.  We  are  told  by  the  Evangelist  John, 
that  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her  sister  Mary, 
and  Lazarus.  O  happy  family !  to  be  be- 
loved by  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  to 
enjoy  the  privilege  of  entertaining  him!  Who 
would  not  envy  the  distinction? 

"The  two  sisters  were  loved,  tenderly  loved, 
by  the  Saviour,  but  not  equally.  Their  piety 
shone  with  different  degrees  of  lustre.  The 
character  of  Martha  was  amiable,  but  not 
faultless.  She  was  a  great  economist,  but 


204  MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

not  a  great  Christian.  Her  love  was  sincere, 
but  it  was  mixed  too  much  with  worldly  pru- 
dence. The  order  of  the  family  concerns 
must  be  attended  to  in  accordence  with  her 
habits  and  taste.  No  matter  how  great  the 
guest  she  was  entertaining,  she  and  her  sister 
must  be  excused  from  spending  their  time  in 
listening  to  him  while  their  own  concerns 
called  for  their  attention." 

After  introducing  the  subject  with  some 
such  remarks,  I  stated  what  the  deacon  above 
alluded  to  had  said  to  me,  and  proceeded : — 

"  But  Mary  was  more  heavenly-minded. 
She  understood  more  perfectly  the  true  cha- 
racter of  their  guest,  and  the  benefit  of  his 
instructions,  and  therefore  availed  herself  of 
the  privilege  of  listening  to  him  without  al- 
lowing her  mind  to  be  troubled  about  many 
things,  as  was  Martha's.  For  this  Martha 
censured  her,  and  called  on  the  Saviour  to 
bid  her  attend  to  her  domestic  concerns. 
This  was  rude  in  Martha,  and  merited  reproof. 
It  indicated  a  worldly  spirit — a  state  of  feel- 
ing unsuited  to  the  occasion.  Here  Martha 
seems  to  reprove  her  Lord  for  allowing  Mary 
to  sit  at  his  feet  and  listen  to  his  word,  and 
to  rebuke  her  sister  for  doing  so,  while  she 
thinks  she  ought  to  be  engaged  in  her  ordinary 
business.  But  the  Saviour  tenderly  chides 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  205 

her,  'Martha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful,  and 
troubled  about  many  things.'  This  feeling 
allusion  to  her  worldly-mindedness,  her  anxious 
care  and  trouble  about  many  things  at  a  time 
when  the  subject  of  her  soul's  salvation  should 
engross  all  her  thoughts,  followed  by  an  un- 
qualified commendation  of  Mary's  conduct  in 
choosing  the  good  part,  must  have  made  a 
deep  impression  on  her  heart.  Was  it  not  a 
spirit  similar  to  that  manifested  by  Martha 
which  influenced  the  person  I  have  mentioned 
to  charge  us  with  causing  people  to  sin,  by 
calling  them  from  their  worldly  business  for 
an  hour  or  two  to  listen  to  the  gospel  of  the 
Son  of  God  ?  One  thing  is  needful !  Doubt- 
less our  Lord  meant  religion— the  religion 
of  the  heart — a  perfection  in  the  Christian 
graces." 

I  then  took  occasion  to  show  in  what  Chris- 
tian perfection,  as  believed  by  the  Methodists, 
consists,  and  how  it  must  be  obtained ;  that 
the  soul,  to  be  saved,  must,  according  to  the 
teaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  be  quick- 
ened, regenerated,  and  sanctified ;  and  that, 
being  sanctified,  it  was  raised  above  the  in- 
fluence of  those  worldly  passions  and  feelings 
which  seemed  so  much  to  trouble  Martha. 
This  one  thing  is  needful — essentially  so — in 
the  estimation  of  Him  who  cannot  err.  Other 


206  MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

things  may  be  desirable ;  as  health,  reputation, 
friends,  competency,  &c.  But  they  are  not 
essential  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  Their 
absence  may  occasion  suffering  for  a  season, 
which,  however,  may  be  compensated  in  an- 
other world.  But  what  will  compensate  a 
man  for  the  loss  of  his  soul  1  Mary  chose  this 
better  part.  It  became  hers,  not  of  necessity, 
but  by  choice." 

Here  I  took  occasion  to  explain  and  defend 
the  doctrines  of  Methodism  respecting  the 
universality  of  the  atonement,  the  free  offer  of 
salvation  to  all  men,  and  those  other  points 
by  which  they  are  contradistinguished  from 
Calvinism,  the  creed  professed  by  the  stand- 
ing order  in  that  section.  Thus,  with  more 
than  ordinary  liberty  and  freedom  of  speech, 
I  went  thro  ugh  with  a  discourse  which  may  be 
regarded  as  a  sample  of  the  manner  by  which 
Methodist  preachers  had  to  introduce  them- 
selves among  the  people  of  the  New-England 
states  in  those  early  days. 

After  I  closed,  the  preacher  who  was  with  me 
in  the  pulpit  stated  that  if  any  one  wished  to 
remark  upon  the  doctrine  advanced  in  the  dis- 
course, or  to  make  any  observations,  there 
was  an  opportunity  to  do  so.  But  no  one 
signified  a  wish  to  speak,  so  he  concluded  the 
meeting.  The  good  natured  inn-keeper  invi- 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  207 

ted  us  home  with  him,  in  company  with  the 
minister  of  the  parish.  He  treated  us  very 
politely,  but  said  not  a  word  about  the  dis- 
course. 

Methodism  was  at  this  time  a  new  thing  in 
the  land  of  the  pilgrims.  It  had  indeed  but 
lately,  been  introduced.  In  1787,  when  I  left 
Long  Island  for  the  west,  it  had  not  yet  found 
its  way  into  the  New-England  states;  and  it 
was  doubted  by  some  whether  it  could  live  in 
that  frigid  zone.  But  Jesse  Lee,  who  has 
been  styled  the  apostle  of  New-England,  was 
persuaded  that  it  could  live  where  man  could, 
live,  and  therefore,  in  1789,  offered  himself 
as  a  missionary  for  that  field,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  it. 

All  who  knew  Mr.  Lee  will  agree  that  he 
was  peculiarly  fitted  for  that  work.  He  pos- 
sessed uncommon  colloquial  powers  and  a 
fascinating  address,  calculated  in  a  high  de- 
gree to  prepossess  the  mind  in  his  favour. 
His  readiness  at  repartee  was  scarcely' 
equalled ;  and  by  the  skilful  use  of  this  ta- 
lent he  often  taught  those  disposed  to  be 
witty  with  him  at  his  expense,  that  the  safest 
way  to  deal  with  him  was  to  be  civil.  But 
what  was  of  more  importance,  he  was  fired 
•wuth  a  missionary  zeal.  The  truth  which 
had  made  him  free  he  wished  to  proclaim  to 


208  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

others,  and  especially  to  the  inquisitive  and 
enterprising  descendants  of  the  pilgrims.  He 
did  not  doubt  but  that  it  would  make  its  way 
into  that  land  of  priests,  and  open  a  wide 
field  for  action  and  usefulness.  He  was, 
moreover,  a  man  of  great  moral  courage,  and 
more  than  ordinary  preaching  talents.  He 
preached  with  more  ease  than  any  other  man 
I  ever  knew,  and  was,  I  think,  the  best  every- 
day preacher  in  the  connection.  Such  was  the 
man  who,  but  four  years  before  I  came  into 
this  district,  first  lifted  the  standard  of  Method- 
ism in  the  New-England  states.  He  com- 
menced his  labours  in  Norwalk,  Connecticut, 
and  progressed  onward  to  the  east,  taking 
New-Haven  and  Boston  in  his  course.  At 
first  he  was  obliged  to  preach  in  the  open  air, 
not  being  able  to  procure  a  house  for  that 
purpose.  "  When  he  stood,  up  in  the  open 
air,"  said  a  person  who  was  present,  "  and 
began  to  sing,  I  knew  not  what  it  meant,  I 
however  drew  near  to  listen,  and  thought  the 
prayer  was  the  best  I  had  ever  heard.  He 
then  read  his  text,  and  began,  in  a  sententious 
manner,  to  address  his  remarks  to  the  under- 
standing and  consciences  of  the  people ;  and 
I  thought  all  who  were  present  must  be  con- 
strained to  say,  '  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.' 
All  the  while  the  people  were  gathering  he 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  209 

continued  this  mode  of  address,  and  presented 
us  with  such  a  variety  of  beautiful  images, 
that  I  thought  he  must  have  been  at  infinite 
pains  to  crowd  so  many  pretty  things  into  his 
memory.  But  when  he  entered  upon  the 
subject  matter  of  his  text,  it  was  with  such  an 
easy,  natural  flow  of  expression,  and  in  such 
a  tone  of  voice,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from 
weeping;  and  many  others  were  affected  in 
the  same  way.  When  he  was  done,  and  we 
had  an  opportunity  of  expressing  our  views  to 
each  other,  it  was  agreed  that  such  a  man 
had  not  visited  New-England  since  the  days 
of  Whitefield.  I  heard  him  again,  and  thought 
I  could  follow  him  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
During  the  four  years  which  had  elapsed  from 
the  time  that  Mr.  Lee  first  preached  in  this 
country  to  that  of  my  coming  on  to  this  dis- 
trict, a  number  of  eminent  men  had  been  em- 
ployed in  this  section  of  the  work,  whose 
memory  was  precious  to  many  that  had  been 
profited  by  their  ministry.  Among  these, 
Hope  Hull  and  Daniel  Smith  were  often 
spoken  of  in  terms  of  great  respect  and  ten- 
derness. Scarcely  two  other  men  could  have 
been  found  so  well  calculated  to  second  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Lee  in  the  eastern  states.  I 
knew  Mr.  Hull,  and  almost  envied  him  his 
talents.  I  thought,  indeed,  if  I  possessed  his 


210  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

qualifications  I  could  be  instrumental  in  saving 
thousands,  where,  with  my  own,  I  could  gain 
one.  This  extraordinary  young  man  drew 
multitudes  after  him,  who,  disarmed  of  their 
prejudices,  were,  under  the  influence  of  his 
discourses,  like  clay  in  the  hand  of  the  potter. 
It  seemed  that  he  could  do  with  them  just  as 
he  pleased.  And  yet  in  the  midst  of  this  as- 
tonishing influence  and  career  of  usefulness, 
he  sighed  for  a  southern  clime ;  and  at  his 
own  request  he  was  permitted  to  retire  to  an- 
other portion  of  the  field.  Perhaps  it  was 
best,  lest,  if  he  had  remained,  he  might  have 
been  idolized  by  the  devoted  people  among 
whom  he  laboured,  to  his  own  injury  and 
theirs. 

A  man  of  some  distinction  represented  him 
to  a  skilful  musician,  who  could  excite  any 
passion  he  pleased.  "  In  our  part,"  said  he, 
in  speaking  of  Mr.  Hull,  "  Arminians  were 
deemed  guilty  of  abominable  heresy,  and  our 
minister  had  often  denounced  them,  and  con- 
signed them  to  certain  perdition.  But  Mr. 
Hull  came  to  a  neighbouring  town,  and  an 
influential  individual  invited  him  to  ours,  and 
informed  our  minister  that,  if  he  refused  him 
the  meeting-house,  he  should  preach  in  his 
house.  The  meeting-house  was  opened,  and 
it  was  crowded  to  overflowing.  Our  minister 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  211 

was  present,  and  was  the  first  who  began  to 
weep.  "  Mj  eyes,"  said  the  man,  "  were  al- 
ternately on  the  minister  in  the  pulpit  and  the 
one  in  the  pew ;  and  I  was  surprised  to  see 
how  soon  and  how  completely  the  latter  was 
unmanned.  Mr.  Hull,  it  is  true,  soon  left  us ; 
but  by  his  unequalled  power  to  move  the 
feelings  of  the  people,  he  so  far  secured  their 
attention  as  to  commend  to  their  understand- 
ing and  hearts  the  gospel  he  preached,  and 
Arminians  have  been  permitted  to  live  among 
us.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
our  minister  .was  never  heard  to  say  a  word 
against  them." 

The  oratory  of  Daniel  Smith  was  different 
from  that  of  Hope  Hull.  It  was  not  calcu* 
lated  to  excite  violent  emotions,  but  to  concili- 
ate and  soothe.  I  recollect  to  have  heard 
Bishop  Asbury  say,  that  D.  Smith  had  a 
faster  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  eastern 
people,  than  any  other  preacher  who  had 
ever  been  sent  among  them.  Such  were 
some  of  the  men  who  had  been  instrumental 
in  introducing  Methodism  into  this  section ; 
and,  every  thing  considered,  they  had  been 
remarkably  successful  in  their  work.  Many 
were  the  seals  of  their  ministry.  Still  the 
prejudices  with  which  we  had  to  contend  were 
numerous  and  inveterate. 


212  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

It  was  common  for  the  Methodist  preach- 
ers, when  they  preached  in  new  places,  and 
often  in  their  regular  appointments,  to  be  at 
tacked  by  some  disputant  on  the  subject  of 
doctrines,  sometimes  by  ministers,  but  more 
frequently  by  students  in  divinity  or  loqua- 
cious and  controversial  laymen.  And,  so  far 
as  my  experience  on  this  district  extended, 
I  discovered  much  rancour  and  bitterness 
mingled  with  these  disputes.  I  am  obliged 
to  say  that,  during  the  three  years  of  my 
labours  in  this  section,  I  found  not  so  much 
as  one  friendly  clergyman  professing  the  doc- 
trines opposed  to  Methodism.  There  may 
have  been  such ;  but  all  with  whom  I  con- 
versed, or  whose  sentiments  I  knew,  were 
violent  in  their  opposition  to  us;  and  the 
rough  manner  in  which  I  was  usually  treated 
by  them,  rendered  me  unwilling  to  come  in 
contact  with  them.  But  when  it  so  happened 
that  we  must  try  our  strength,  I  found  no  dif- 
ficulty in  defending  the  cause  I  had  espoused ; 
for  a  foe  despised  has  a  great  advantage. 
And  when  a  man  has  a  system  which  is 
clearly  scriptural,  he  needs  only  a  little  plain 
common  sense  and  self-possession  to  maintain 
his  ground,  though  a  host  of  learned  theolo- 
gians should  unite  against  him. 

My  district  spread  over  a  large  territory  of 


MEMOIR    OF   REV.   THOMAS   WARE.  213 

country.  At  first  it  embraced,  as  I  have 
stated,  a  part  of  four  states ;  and  the  last 
year  it  extended  from  Staten  Island  to  Herki- 
mer,  more  than  three  hundred  miles  in 
length.  And  here  I  experienced,  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life,  what  Milton  meant  by  "joint 
racking  rheums." 

The  preachers  on  the  district,  both  tra- 
velling and  local,  were  innocent  unassuming 
men,  who  cheerfully  embraced  the  happy  toil. 
They  were  always  glad  to  see  me  when  I 
came,  and  especially  when  they  had  intelli- 
gence to  furnish  me  which  they  knew  would 
gladden  my  heart ;  and,  thanks  be  to  God,  we 
had  at  each  visitation  some  returning  prodi- 
gals over  whom  to  rejoice  together. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  my  mind 
became  more  especially  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject of  the  support  of  the  ministry.  Finding 
a  growing  disinclination  among  the  preachers 
for  an  itinerant  life,  which  was  evinced  by 
their  frequent  locations,  I  pondered  much  on 
the  subject,  and  wrote  to  John  Dickens, 
our  book  agent  in  Philadelphia^  a  man  of  ex- 
cellent sense  and  a  most  amiable  spirit.  To 
this  good  man  I  could  open  all  my  heart, 
knowing  that,  if  I  erred,  he  would  correct  me, 
and  do  it  too  in  a  spirit  which  would  increase 
my  obligations  to,  and  esteem  for  him. 


214  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

I  thought  our  system  too  severe.  It  ca/lod 
us  in  youth  to  sacrifice  all  means  of  acquiring 
property,  and  threatened  to  leave  us  de- 
pendant on  the  cold  hand  of  charity  for 
our  bread  in  old  age.  Some  plead  that  we 
had  no  asylum  for  our  sons,  so  that,  while 
we  were  travelling  and  preaching  to  others, 
they  had  none  to  take  care  of  them;  and 
they  said  they  must  locate  to  preserve 
them  from  ignorance  and  crime.  And  the 
fact  that  there  was  no  provision  made  for 
superannuated  men,  induced  many  to  forsake 
the  itinerant  ranks  in  order  to  provide,  while 
they  had  health  and  strength,  against  absolute 
want  in  time  of  infirmity  and  old  age.  And 
who  could  blame  them  ?  To  me  it  appeared 
in  vain  that  we  should  ever  hope  to  perpetu- 
ate the  itinerant  plan,  unless  the  wants  of  the 
preachers  were  better  supplied,  and  some 
security  given  them  that  in  advanced  life,  or 
when  their  powers  should  be  prostrated,  their 
bread  and  their  water  should  be  sure. 

My  proposition  to  my  excellent  friend,  Mr. 
Dickens,  was,  to  have  the  Book  Concern 
incorporated,  and  to  hold  the  proceeds  sacred 
for  the  superannuated  preachers.  In  this  pro- 
position he  agreed  with  me.  But  in  the  year 
1796 the  "Chartered  Fund"  was  instituted,  the 
proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  applied  toward 


MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  215 

making  up  the  deficiencies  of  the  preachers 
generally ;  and  thus  the  superannuated  might 
be  said  to  be  placed  on  the  charitable  list, 
where,  instead  of  their  annual  allowance,  they 
generally  received  not  more  than  one-third. 

This,  I  believed,  would  have  an  injurious 
effect  on  the  itinerancy,  as  it  would  keep  the 
ranks  filled  with  young  men.  In  ten  years, 
reckoning  from  1784,  we  lost,  from  the  tra- 
velling connection  by  locations,  two  hundred 
and  ninety  preachers,  among  whom  were 
many  of  long  standing,  and  the  most  com- 
manding talents. 

The  Rev.  John  Dickens,  with  whom  I  cor- 
responded on  this  subject,  was  not  only  one 
of  the  most  sensible  men  I  ever  knew,  but 
one  of  the  most  conscientious.  The  subject 
of  ministerial  support  was  with  him  one  of 
serious  import.  The  plan  which  he  deemed 
the  truly  Methodistical  one,  was,  simply  to 
supply  the  wants  of  all  the  preachers,  as  well 
after  they  should  become  superannuated  as 
while  they  were  effective,  and  to  provide 
to  have  this  done  without  fail.  Then  there 
would  be  no  inducement,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
make  merchandise  of  the  gospel,  nor,  on  the 
other,  to  abandon  the  field  in  view  of  being 
left  to  suffer  in  the  decline  of  life.  But  to 
raise  the  expectations  of  the  preachers,  by 


216  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

promising  all  this,  or  seeming1  to  promise  it, 
by  setting  it  forth  in  the  Discipline  as  allowed 
them,  he  deemed  an  offence  against  justice, 
whether  practised  upon  ourselves  or  others. 
He  therefore  believed,  that,  when  it  became 
evident  that  the  pledge  made  to  the  superan- 
nuated preachers  could  not  or  would  not  be 
redeemed,  it  would  become  an  imperious  duty 
to  disannul  it  and  change  the  plan.  He  was 
persuaded,  however,  that  the  time  was  not  far 
distant  when  the  Methodist  people,  who  loved 
the  itinerancy  because  God  had  so  signally 
owned  it  in  spreading  scriptural  holiness 
through  the  land,  would  deal  justly  toward 
those  self-denying  men  who  had  faithfully 
laboured  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

Such  were  the  sentiments  I  received  from 
John  Dickens  on  this  subject,  in  answer  to  my 
inquiries  and  suggestions.  At  the  same  time 
he  remarked  that  the  responsibility  lay  chiefly 
upon  the  preachers.  The  fund  proposed 
might  be  productive  of  much  good  ;  but  the 
main  thing  was  to  copy  more  after  the  parent 
society  in  our  pecuniary  matters,  a  subject  on 
which  I  had  long  thought  of  writing. 

Although  most  of  the  preachers  on  this 
district  were  young  in  years,  or  the  ministry, 
or  both,  and  a  heavy  tide  of  opposition  bore 
down  upon  us  ;  yet  under  the  direction  of  our- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  217 

divine  Guide  we  were  enabled  to  stem  the 
torrent ;  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  we  found 
that  we  had  gained  a  little,  and  had  acquired 
some  more  strength  and  skill  to  use  the  wea- 
pons of  our  spiritual  warfare.  At  some  of  our 
quarterly  meetings  the  sacred  influence  was 
so  evidently  present  that  it  neutralized  all 
opposition,  and  we  seemed,  as  the  boatman 
descending  the  Mohawk  in  time  of  flood,  to 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  guide  the  helm. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Mr.  Ware  attends  the  New- York  conference  in  1796 — Goes 
with  Bishop  Asbury  to  the  Philadelphia  conference — Is  ap- 
pointed to  the  Philadelphia  district — Attends  the  General 
Conference,  which  sits  this  year  in  Baltimore,  before  going  to 
his  district — Reflections  on  the  feelings  which  the  last  General 
Conference  occasioned — The  secession  of  James  O'Kelly — 
The  spirit  the  party  manifested — The  good  feelings  which  pre- 
vailed at  this  conference — Fault  of  neglecting  to  provide  for  the 
superannuated  preachers — Effect  of  continued  neglect  of  this 
matter  on  the  itinerancy — Commendation  of  the  practice  of  our 
English  brethren  on  this  subject — Enters  upon  the  duties  of  the 
district — Marriage — Strasburg  circuit — Great  revival  com- 
mences under  the  labours  of  Dr.  Chandler — It  spreads  to  other 
parts  of  the  district — Becomes  general  and  powerful. 

ON  the  30th  of  September  1796,  the  annual 

conference  commenced  its  session  in  the  city 

of  New- York.     From  this  conference  I  went 

with  Bishop  Asbury  to  the  Philadelphia  con- 

10 


218  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

ference,  which  commenced  in  Philadelphia  on 
the  20th  of  October.  Here  I  was  appointed 
to  the  charge  of  the  Philadelphia  district, 
which  extended  from  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
to  the  Seneca  lake,  in  the  state  of  New- York. 
I  did  not,  however,  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  my  charge  until  after  the  General  Con- 
ference, which  commenced  its  session  in  Bal- 
timore on  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 

The  commencement  of  another  General 
Conference  was  a  period  suitable  for  reflection. 
Four  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  first 
one,  and,  all  things  considered,  the  most 
interesting  ecclesiastical  council  ever  wit- 
nessed in  this  country,  had  been  held.  We 
had  now  tried  the  system,  and  had  come 
together  to  review  the  past  and  confer  with 
each  other  respecting  the  future.  I  was  at 
the  conference  of  1792,  and  some  of  the  pain- 
ful sensations  I  felt  during  its  session  have 
caused  me  at  times  to  wish  I  could  forget 
there  had  been  such  a  meeting.  Christ 
prayed  that  his  disciples  might  be  one,  that  is, 
as  I  understand  it,  to  "kindly  think  and 
sweetly  speak  the  same."  This  was  pre- 
eminently the  case  among  the  primitive  Me- 
thodists, and  especially  the  first  Methodist 
preachers.  But  there  is  one  sense  only  in 
which  man  may  be  said  to  be  perfect,  and 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  219 

that  is  in  love.  Love,  one  apostle  says,  casts 
out  fear;  and  another  calls  it  the  bond  of 
perfectness.  In  knowledge  and  judgment 
man  is  imperfect,  and  therefore  liable  to  err. 
And  from  adhering  obstinately  to  views  found- 
ed in  error  of  judgment,  we  are  sometimes 
led  away  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1792,  Mr. 
James  O'Kelly,  who  had  long  officiated  as  a 
presiding  elder,  and  acquired  very  considera- 
ble influence  in  the  Church  by  his  labours 
and  perseverance,  introduced  a  proposition  to 
this  effect,  namely,  "After  the  bishop  appoints 
the  preachers  at  conference  to  their  several 
circuits,  if  any  think  himself  injured  by  the 
appointment,  he  shall  have  liberty  to  appeal 
to  the  conference,  and  state  his  objections ; 
and  if  the  conference  approve  his  objections, 
the  bishop  shall  appoint  him  to  another  cir- 
cuit." 

This  was  a  delicate  subject.  There  is  no- 
thing more  contrary  to  the  nature  or  inclina- 
tion of  man  than  to  sacrifice  his  will ;  and  yet 
this  must  be  done  for  the  preservation  of 
order,  not  only  by  Christians,  but  by  the  citi- 
zens of  any  commonwealth.  A  sensible  man, 
who,  when  under  awakening,  resorted  to  a 
ledge  of  rocks  for  prayer,  and  there  found 
mercy,  sententiously  remarked  in  relating  his 


220  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

experience,  "I  lost  my  will  among  the  rocks.* 
To  the  real  Christian  who  wishes  in  any  ca- 
pacity to  be  devoted  wholly  to  the  service  of 
God,  it  is  always  pleasing  to  revert  to  the  time 
when  he  lost  his  will.  But  when  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  powers  of  the  officers  in  church 
or  state  is  the  subject  of  reflection,  we  are  not 
always  certain  how  far  we  ought  to  yield  our- 
selves in  voluntary  submission.  We  may 
give  up  too  much — more  than  the  object  is 
worth,  or  the  exigence  of  the  case  requires. 

It  was  allowed,  on  all  hands,  that  no  sacri- 
fice could  be  too  great  to  accomplish  the 
object  we  had  in  view,  namely,  the  salvation 
of  souls ;  but  the  question  was,  whether  the 
means  were  the  most  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
accomplishment  of  that  object.  Whether  for 
this  purpose  so  large  a  body  of  men  should 
hold  themselves  ready  to  go  wherever  the 
general  superintendent  should  deem  it  best  in 
his  judgment  to  send  them.  The  number  of 
travelling  preachers  was  at  this  time  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six. 

Had  Mr.  O'Kelly's  proposition  been  differ- 
ently managed  it  might  possibly  have  been 
carried.  For  myself,  at  first  I  did  not  see 
any  thing  very  objectionable  in  it.  But  when 
it  came  to  be  debated,  I  very  much  disliked 
the  spirit  of  those  who  advocated  it,  and  won 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  221 

dered  at  the  severity  in  which  the  movers  and 
others  who  spoke  in  favour  of  it  indulged  in 
the  course  of  their  remarks.  Some  of  them 
said  that  it  was  a  shame  for  a  man  to  accept 
of  such  a  lordship,  much  more  to  claim  it; 
and  that  they  who  would  submit  to  this  abso- 
lute dominion  must  forfeit  all  claims  to  free- 
dom, and  ought  to  have  their  ears  bored 
through  with  an  awl,  and  to  be  fastened  to 
their  master's  door  and  become  slaves  for  life. 
One  said  that  to  be  denied  such  an  appeal  was 
an  insult  to  his  understanding,  and  a  species 
of  tyranny  to  which  others  might  submit  if 
they  chose,  but  for  his  part  he  must  be  ex- 
cused for  saying  he  could  not.  The  advocates 
of  the  opposite  side  were  more  dispassionate 
and  argumentative.  They  urged  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  the  father  of  the  Methodist  family, 
had  devised  the  plan,  and  deemed  it  essential 
for  the  preservation  of  the  itinerancy.  They 
said  that,  according  to  the  showing  of  brother 
O'Kelly,  Mr.  Wesley,  if  he  were  alive,  ought 
to  blush ;  for  he  claimed  the  right  to  station 
the  preachers  to  the  day  of  his  death.  The 
appeal,  it  was  argued,  was  rendered  imprac- 
ticable on  account  of  the  many  serious  diffi- 
culties with  which  it  was  encumbered.  Should 
one  preacher  appeal  and  the  conference  say 
his  appointment  should  be  altered,  the  Bishop 


222  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

must  remove  some  other  one  to  make  him 
room ;  in  which  case  the  other  might  complain 
and  appeal  in  his  turn;  and  then  again  the 
first  might  appeal  from  the  new  appointment, 
or  others  whose  appointments  these  successive 
alterations  might  interrupt.  Hearing  all  that 
was  said  on  both  sides,  I  was  finally  con- 
vinced that  the  motion  for  such  an  appeal 
ought  not  to  carry. 

We  had  now  met  in  general  conference 
again,  and  our  number  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  We  went  through  our  business  ami- 
cably ;  and  there  was  a  gracious  work  of 
revival  in  the  congregations  throughout  the 
city.  As  to  the  conference,  I  was  pleased 
with  the*  spirit  in  which  the  business  was 
transacted,  but  not  with  all  that  was  done,  or, 
in  other  words,  that  something  was  not  done 
which  I  had  hoped  would  be  done.  I  had 
hoped  that  some  measures  would  be  entered 
into  by  that  body  to  retain  the  preachers  in 
the  itinerant  ranks.  During  the  four  years 
between  the  two  general  conferences  we  had 
lost  by  location  one  hundred  and  six  preach- 
ers. This  appeared  to  me  a .  great  evil,  and 
one  that  ought  to  be  remedied.  I  recollected 
that,  during  the  revolution,  congress  for  a 
long  time  neglected  to  do  any  thing  by  way 
of  providing  a  pension  for  those  who  should 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  223 

remain  in  the  service  during  the  war ;  and 
the  consequence  was,  that  many  of  the  best 
officers  left  when  their  experience  and  ability 
rendered  it  most  desirable  to  keep  them  in  it. 
This  much  distressed  Gen.  Washington,  who 
remonstrated  with  congress,  and  told  them 
that  he  could  procure  plenty  of  officers,  but 
they  could  not  supply  the  place  of  the  old 
ones.  He  urged  that  it  was  unreasonable  to 
expect  that  men  would  spend  the  prime  of 
their  lives  in  the  public  service,  and  sacrifice 
all  the  means  of  acquiring  a  competency  for 
old  age,  encountering  the  fatigues  and  hard- 
ships of  the  camp  and  the  perils  of  the  field, 
unless  some  provision  should  be  made  for 
their  comfortable  support  through  life. 

These  views  appeared  so  rational  that  no 
one  could  avoid  feeling  their  force.  But  they 
appeared  to  me  as  applicable  to  Methodist 
travelling  preachers  as  to  the  officers  of  the 
revolution.  Their  allowance  is  limited  to 
what  they  need  for  their  present  support;  and 
we  say  they  shall  be  entitled  to  so  much 
when  they  are  worn  out,  or,  in  other  words, 
that  they  shall  have  a  specified  annuity.  But 
no  adequate  means  are  devised  to  raise  it. 

I  am  one  who  voted  for  the  rule  which 
says,  that  the  church  shall  not  be  accountable 
for  the  deficiencies  of  the  preachers  in  case 


224  MEMOIR    OF   REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

of  debt ;  and  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive 
of  any  thing  more  sacred  than  the  pledge 
made  to  superannuated  preachers,  widows, 
and  orphans,  that  a  competency  shall  be 
furnished  them  while  they  remain  dependant 
on  the  church.  If  the  effective  men  are 
neglected,  they  may  resort  to  some  other  em- 
ployment, unfriendly  as  it  is  to  the  interests 
of  the  church  to  compel  them  to  do  so,  and 
thus  prevent  actual  suffering  from  penury.  But 
those  who  have  worn  themselves  out  in  the 
service  of  the  church,  or  the  .  widows  and 
helpless  children  of  such  for  whom  they  have 
not  provided,  because  they  were  exclusively 
devoted  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  what 
are  they  to  do  ?  There  is  cruelty  in  neglect- 
ing them.  The  rule  I  have  named  seemed 
to  be  necessary.  But  I  did  hope  some  pro- 
vision would  be  made  to  meet  the  exigency 
of  the  superannuated  preachers  and  their  de- 
pendants. I  desired  to  see  some  plan  adopted 
which  would  assure  the  preachers  that  they 
should  be  comfortably  provided  for  in  the  de- 
cline of  life.  But  I  was  disappointed.  I  do 
believe,  if  such  a  plan  had  been  adopted  and 
carried  into  effect  at  the  commencement,  we 
should  have  been  a  more  numerous,  and,  per- 
haps, a  better  people  than  we  now  are.  None, 
I  think,  who  have  examined  our  history,  will 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  225 

doubt  that  we  have  sustained  much  injury  by 
the  location  of  so  many  of  our  ministers,  at  a 
period,  when  they  were  best  qualified  to  be 
useful,  and  the  necessity  of  supplying  their 
places  by  young  and  inexperienced  men. 
When  we  look  at  the  economy  of  the  father 
and  founder  of  Methodism,  and  of  our  bre- 
thren in  England,  we  are  furnished  with  a 
lesson  of  instruction  on  this  subject.  Few 
preachers,  after  being  admitted  into  full  con- 
nection in  the  British  conference,  are  known 
to  locate.  And  how  do  they  retain  them? 
The  old  men  in  that  connection  are  treated 
with  the  greatest  respect  and  tenderness ;  and 
none  of  them  are  left  in  the  decline  of  life  to 
contend  with  the  world  for  bread.  A  compe- 
tent provision  is  made  for  them,  so  that  their 
sun  may  go  pleasantly  down. 

After  the  close  of  the  conference,  I  hasten- 
ed to  my  work.  The  labours  of  the  district, 
I  was  apprized,  would  be  very  severe.  But 
through  mercy  I  w  s  enabled  to  perform 
them. 

The  first  year  on  this  district  presented 
nothing  remarkable  for  record.  The  second, 
however,  was  more  propitious.  A  glorious 
religious  excitement  commenced  on  Stras- 
burg  and  Chester  circuits,  which  spread 
through  the  whole  peninsula,  exceeding  any 


226  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

thing  I  have  ever  witnessed.  This  revival 
embraced  all  classes — governor,  judges,  law- 
yers, and  statesmen, — old  and  young,  rich 
and  poor — including  many  of  the  African 
race,  who  adorned  their  profession  by  a  well 
ordered  life,  and  some  of  them  by  a  triumph- 
ant death. 

For  Strasburg  circuit  I  felt  a  particular 
interest,  as  it  had  now  become  the  place  of 
my  residence.  Here  I  had  formed  an  ac- 
quaintance with  Miss  Barbary  Miller,  a  per- 
son whom  I  selected,  above  all  others,  as  a 
suitable  companion  for  me  ;  and  on  the  15th 
of  October,  1797,  we  were  joined  in  holy 
matrimony,  she  being  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
and  I  thirty-eight.  On  this  circuit  there  were 
some  excellent  members  ;  but  there  had  been 
no  revival  for  several  years.  Many  of  the 
children  of  the  early  Methodists  were  nearly 
grown  up,  and  but  few  of  them  professed 
religion,  and  some  who  had  long  prayed  for 
a  revival  had  become  almost  discouraged. 

O 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  on  this  circuit, 
when  I  prevailed  on  Bishop  Asbury  to  appoint 
Dr.  Chandler  to  it,  as  the  most  likely,  in  my 
estimation,  to  be  useful  in  stirring  up  the  peo- 
ple. Dr.  Chandler  was  a  dentist ;  and,  at  the 
time  I  obtained  his  consent  to  travel,  he  was 
reading  medicine  with  Dr.  Rush.  He  had 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  227 

been  for  some  time  a  licensed  preacher.  He 
was  gifted,  enterprising,  and  every  way  well 
qualified  for  the  itinerant  work ;  and  in  that 
capacity  I  thought  he  would  be  most  likely  to 
be  useful.  I  had  a  very  particular  friendship 
for  him,  as  I  had  long  known  him  and  his 
habits,  which  I  believed  were  such  as  would 
render  him  eminently  successful  in  the  work 
of  saving  souls,  if  he  would  give  himself  up 
wholly  to  the  service  of  the  church.  I  ac- 
cordingly communicated  with  him  on  the 
subject ;  but  he  pleaded  his  engagements  with 
Dr.  Rush  as  a  barrier  against  his  going  out 
into  the  work.  I  accordingly  waited  on  the 
venerable  Rush,  and  expressed  to  him  my 
views  respecting  the  duty  of  Dr.  Chandler, 
who  perfectly  agreed  with  me  in  the  matter, 
and  cheerfully  released  him  from  his  engage- 
ments ;  and  he  entered  with  all  his  soul  into 
the  work. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  second  quar- 
ter, Dr.  Chandler  began  covenanting  with  the 
people.  He  obtained  a  pledge  from  them  to 
abstain  wholly  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits, 
and  to  meet  him  at  the  throne  of  grace  three 
times  a  day,  namely,  at  sunrise,  at  noon,  and 
at  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  to  pray  for 
a  revival  of  the  work  of  God  on  the  circuit, 
and  especially  that  he  would  visit  them  and 


228  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

give  them  some  token  for  good  at  their  next 
quarterly  meeting.  As  the  time  of  the  meet- 
ing approached,  he  pressed  them  to  come  out 
without  fail,  and  expressed  a  belief  that  the 
Lord  would  do  great  things  for  us.  Soon 
after  he  commenced  this  course,  there  were 
evident  indications  that  the  work  was  begin- 
ning to  revive  ;  and  many,  with  the  preacher, 
began  to  predict  that  something  great  would 
be  done  at  the  quarterly  meeting. 

On  Saturday,  many  people  attended.  I 
opened  the  meeting  by  singing,  and  then 
attempted  to  pray ;  but  in  two  minutes 
my  voice  was  drowned  in  the  general  cry 
throughout  the  house,  which  continued  all 
that  day  and  night,  and  indeed  for  the  greater 
part  of  three  days.  A  great  number  professed 
to  be  converted,  who  stood  fast  and  adorned 
their  profession.  But  the  best  of  all  was, 
many  who  had  lost  their  first  love  repented, 
and  did  their  first  works ;  and  God  restored 
them  to  his  favour. 

Cecil  circuit  had  been  added  to  the  Phila- 
delphia district.  The  quarterly  meeting  on 
this  circuit  was  at  hand,  and  I  urged  Dr.  C.  to 
attend  it.  He  came  with  a  number  of  the 
warm-hearted  members  from  his  circuit.  On 
the  first  day  of  the  meeting  there  were  many 
present,  and  the  prospect  was  very  encourag- 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  229 

ing.  But  there  were  appearances  of  rain, 
which  it  was  thought  might  discourage  the 
people  from  coming  out  in  the  evening.  Dr. 
Chandler,  however,  pressed  them  to  come  out, 
saying  that  he  believed  God  would  be  present 
and  do  wonders  among  them.  "  Some  of 
you,"  he  added,  "  will  probably  be  kept  away 
from  the  apprehension  that  it  will  rain :  but, 
mark  my  word,  there  will  be  no  rain  in  this 
vicinity,  until  the  quarterly  meeting  is  ended." 
I  was  startled  at  this  bold  prediction,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  requesting  him  to  recall  or 
qualify  it,  but  finally  concluded  to  let  it  pass. 

Night  came,  and  the  house  was  crowded. 
A  gracious  work  commenced.  Some,  of  whom 
it  was  least  expected,  were  found  upon  their 
knees  crying  for  mercy.  The  morning  of  the 
sabbath  was  the  most  dark  and  threatening 
I  ever  saw.  The  clouds  appeared  surcharged 
with  rain,  and  it  was  the  expectation  of  many 
that  Dr.  C.  would  be  proved  a  false  prophet. 
But  still  it  so  turned  out  that  the  rain  was 
withheld  until  the  meeting  closed,  and  the 
people  generally  had  reached  their  homes ; 
after  which  the  clouds  emptied  themselves 
upon  the  earth,  and  the  fall  of  rain  exceeded 
any  thing  which  had  been  known  for  many 
years  before. 

This  meeting,  though  not  equal  to  the  one 


230       MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS  WARE. 

last  named,  was  nevertheless  a  very  profitable 
one.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  professed  to 
receive  an  evidence  of  the  remission  of  their 
sins,  and  united  with  the  Church.  From  this 
the  fire  began  to  spread  to  the  south,  and 
soon  the  whole  peninsula  was  in  a  flame  of 
revival.  At  the  north  also  the  influence  was 
felt.  Sparks  were  kindled  in  Middletown, 
Northumberland,  Wilkesbarre,  and  quite  up 
in  the  Genesee  and  lake  country  in  western 
New- York. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

In  1800  Mr.  Ware  is  appointed  to  a  district  on  the  peninsula 
— Attends  General  Conference  in  Baltimore  before  entering 
on  the  labours  of  his  district — Again  deplores  the  neglect  of 
providing  for  the  superannuated  preachers — Annual  conference 
at  Smyrna — A  great  revival  goes  on  during  its  session,  and  one 
hundred  added  to  the  church  at  its  close — A  meeting  appointed 
by  request  at  Dover,  to  be  called  the  yearly  meeting — A  season 
of  extraordinary  power  and  gracious  influence — Family  affliction 
• — Death  of  a  son — Leaves  the  district  at  the  end  of  the  third 
year,  and  returns  to  the  Philadelphia  district — In  1803  takes 
charge  of  Jersey  district — On  leaving  this,  two  years  at  St. 
George's,  in  Philadelphia — Is  sick — In  1809,  supernumerary — 
In  1810,  superannuated — In  1811,  stationed  at  Lancaster — 1812, 
is  elected  by  the  General  Conference  held  in  New- York  one  of 
the  book  agents — 1816,  appointed  to  Long  Island — Continues 
effective  till  1825,  in  all  forty  years. 

IN  1800  I  was  appointed  to  a  district  on  the 
peninsula.  There  were  in  this  district  ten 
circuits,  twenty  travelling  preachers,  and  about 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  231 

nine  thousand  members.  This  I  deemed  one 
of  the  most  important  charges  I  ever  filled. 
With  the  care  of  all  these  circuits  and  preach- 
ers, and  my  dear  family — a  wife,  child,  and 
aged  mother — I  had  enough  to  occupy  all  my 
time  and  attention.  To  my  family,  indeed,  I 
could  devote  but  a  small  part  of  my  time. 
The  fertile  soil  we  occupied  employed  all  our 
labour  and  care,  for  the  fields  were  white  to 
•the  harvest  The  scenes  which  I  witnessed 
at  Smyrna,  Dover,  Milford,  Centreville,  Eas- 
ton,  and  many  other  places,  I  have  not  ability 
to  describe.  During  the  times  of 'revival  in 
these  places,  thousands  of  all  ranks  were 
drawn  to  the  meetings,  and  spent  days  to- 
gether in  acts  of  devotion,  apparently  forgetful 
of  their  temporal  concerns.  Should  any  one 
ask  what  influenced  them  to  this,  the  answer 
is,  they  expected  to  find  the  Lord  there,  and 
their  expectations  were  realized  to  the  joy 
and  satisfaction  of  their  souls.  Thus  some 
came,  and  then  returned  and  told  others,  who 
in  turn  came,  and  went  away  in  like  manner 
to  inform  others  still.  In  this  way  the  work 
continued  to  extend  until  it  became  general. 

My  first  year  on  this  district  was  one  of  the 
happiest  in  my  whole  life.  My  health  was 
continually  good,  as  was  that  also  of  my 
family — my  wife  and  child.  The  vine  we 


232  MEMOIR    OF    UEV.    THOMAS    WAIIE. 

were  exerting  our  utmost  skill  to  dress,  grew 
until  it  shaded  all  the  land  and  regaled  us 
with  odoriferous  flowers  and  delicious  fruit 
Every  thing  went  on  pleasantly.  The  wants 
of  the  preachers  were  supplied  with  the  ut- 
most ease ;  and  the  affectionate  solicitude 
manifested  by  the  members  for  each  other's 
happiness,  and  that  of  their  fellow  men,  was 
delightful.  Here,  as  in  Tennessee,  I  hesitated 
not  to  call  at  any  house  when  I  wanted  re- 
freshment or  a  night's  entertainment.  The 
candle  of  the  Lord  shone  brilliantly  about  my 
path ;  and  my  cup  was  oftentimes  full  to 
overflowing. 

Previously  to  my  entering  upon  the  charge 
of  this  district  I  attended  our  third  General 
Conference,  which  was  held  in  Baltimore 
in  the  month  of  May.  At  this  conference  we 
had  occasion  of  rejoicing  on  account  of  the 
prosperity  which  had  attended  our  labours 
during  the  four  years  past.  In  the  last  year 
our  number  had  increased  three  thousand  five 
hundred  and  forty-three ;  and  we  had  peace  in 
all  our  borders.  There  was  one  thing,  how- 
ever, at  which  I  was,  as  before  I  had  been, 
deeply  grieved,  and  wondered  that  a  matter 
of  such  magnitude  should  be  so  slightly 
passed  over.  It  was  the  neglect  of  providing 
some  means  to  prevent  so  many  locations. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  233 

During  the  four  years  which  were  past  one 
hundred  and  twenty  preachers  had  located; 
and  though  our  ranks  were  filled  up  in  num 
bers,  our  loss  in  age  and  experience  was 
great.  Of  this  we  were  sensible  in  my 
district,  which  at  the  close  of  the  second  year 
embraced  fourteen  thousand  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  members,  being  an  increase  in  two 
years  of  more  than  six  thousand. 

On  the  second  day  of  June  our  annual 
conference  commenced  its  session  in  Smyrna. 
"Here,"  Mr.  Lee  says  in  his  History,  "a  great 
work  began."  But  it  had  in  fact  begun  two 
years  before  in  Pennsylvania,  and  had  made 
some  progress  on  the  peninsula,  though  not 
without  considerable  opposition  from  persons 
of  influence  who  did  not  like  it,  at  least  from 
the  report  they  had  heard  respecting  it. 

At  the  Smyrna  conference  the  work  mani- 
fested itself  in  its  true  character,  and  the 
opposition  ceased.  There  were  persons  pre- 
sent from  almost  all  parts  of  the  Eastern  Shore, 
who  witnessed  the  general  excitement  and 
gracious  influence  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  conference,  during  which  time 
hundreds  were  converted  to  God.  These  re- 
turned home,  revived  in  their  spirits,  and 
wondering  at  what  they  had  seen,  and  heard, 
and  felt ;  and  through  the  instrumentality  of 


234  MEMOIR    OP    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

some  of  these  the  fires  of  revival  were  kin- 
dled up  in  their  neighbourhoods  before  the 
preachers  arrived. 

At  the  close  of  this  conference  one  hundred 
persons  were  received  on  trial  in  the  church ; 
and  Governor  Bassett,  Dr.  Ridgly,  and  others 
requested  that  a  meeting  might  be  appointed 
at  Dover  during  the  ensuing  May,  to  be  called 
the  yearly  meeting,  to  continue  for  one  week. 
In  compliance  with  this  request  the  appoint- 
ment was  made ;  and  the  meeting  was  no  less 
extraordinary  than  the  one  held  at  the  con- 
ference. There  were  but  few  of  the  principal 
houses  in  this  metropolis  in  which  there  were 
not  some  converted  during  the  meeting ;  and 
more  than  once  the  whole  night  was  employ- 
ed, both  in  the  church  and  private  houses,  in 
prayer  for  penitents,  and  in  rejoicing  with 
those  who  had  obtained  an  evidence  of  par- 
don, or  were  reclaimed  from  their  backslidings. 
Having  the  charge  of  this  meeting,  its  weight 
would  have  been  more  than  I  could  bear, 
only  that  I  had  brothers  Cooper,  Chandler, 
Spry,  and  many  others  to  sustain  me  in  the 
arduous  task ;  and  the  best  of  all  was,  God 
was  with  us. 

But  a  cup  of  unmixed  felicity  does  not  fall 
to  the  lot  of  any  mortal  in  this  world.  On  re- 
turning from  my  first  route  around  the  dis 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS   WARE.  235 

trict  for  the  second  year,  I  found  my  wife, 
who  had  been  confined  during  my  absence, 
exceedingly  ill,  and  duty  obliged  me  to  remain 
with  her  for  a  season. 

The  work  of  the  Lord  was  still  going  on 
rapidly ;  and  as  soon  as  I  could  leave  my 
aiflicted  companion  and  my  infant  son,  I 
hasted  away  to  see  how  the  garden  of  the 
Lord  flourished. 

Camp  meetings  had  not  yet  been  intro- 
duced ;  and  we  knew  not  what  to  do  with  the 
thousands  who  attended  our  quarterly  meet- 
ings. Sometimes  we  were  forced  to  resort  to 
the  woods,  and  even  to  hold  our  love-feasts  in 
the  grove.  Our  membership  increased  rapidly ; 
but  we  refrained  from  urging  any  to  join  the 
Church  until  they  had  taken  time  to  reflect  and 
examine  whether  they  had  fully  made  up  their 
minds  to  be  religious,  and  could  unreservedly 
take  upon  themselves  the  vows  of  their  God. 

After  finishing  my  third  tour  around  my 
district,  on  my  way  home  I  called  on  my 
friend  Dr.  Ridgly,  and  inquired  if  he  could 
make  it  convenient  to  be  at  home  on  a 
certain  day,  as  I  wished,  Providence  permit- 
ting, to  come  down  to  Dover  on  that  day  and 
get  my  little  son  vaccinated.  The  doctor  was 
a  man  of  much  feeling,  and  I  saw  that  he  was 
greatly  embarrassed  at  my  mentioning  my 


236  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

little  son.  But  I  was  not  long  kept  in  sus- 
pense. Alas !  my  first-born  was  no  more. 
He  had  died  during  my  absence.  It  was  a 
consolation  to  me,  however,  that  I  was  not 
absent  on  my  own  account,  but  in  the  cause 
of  my  heavenly  Master. 

Before  I  left  Philadelphia,  the  people  were 
greatly  excited  on  the  subject  of  politics. 
Party  spirit  ran  high.  Mr.  Adams  was  presi- 
dent ;  and  addresses  were  presented  to  him 
approving  his  administration  and  promising 
him  support.  A  proposition  was  made  in  our 
conference  to  address  him  in  like  manner. 
To  this  I  objected.  And  in  opposing  the 
introduction  of  politics  into  our  ecclesiastical 
councils,  I  made  some  remarks  on  the  changes 
which  would  be  likely  to  take  place  in  the 
administration  of  our  government,  upon  which 
those  who  were  influenced  by  a  political  frenzy 
put  such  construction  as  suited  them. 

While  labouring  Dn  the  Eastern  Shoi<s,  the 
political  fever  began  to  affect  the  people  in 
this  region ;  and,  some  how  or  other,  my  re- 
marks came  to  be  known  to  them,  and  I  was 
thereby  rendered  exceedingly  popular  with 
one  party,  but  lost  all  influence  with  the 
other.  These,  though  they  treated  me  with 
great  kindness,  had  the  address  to  effect  my 
removal  from  the  district. 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  237 

In  1802,  I  returned  to  the  Philadelphia  dis- 
trict. The  next  year,  1803,  I  again  took 
charge  of  the  Jersey  district,  and  continued 
on  it  four  years.  After  this,  I  laboured  two 
years  in  the  St.  George's  charge,  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  In  all  these  places  I  saw 
Methodism  still  on  the  advance,  but  not  with 
the  rapidity  which  distinguished  its  march  on 
the  Eastern  Shore. 

Toward  the  close  of  my  charge  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1808,  I  was  attacked  with  a  violent 
fever,  and  my  physician  deemed  it  proper  for 
me  to  be  bled.  Until  this  time,  I  had  not  been 
sensible  of  any  material  decline  in  strength, 
agility,  or  sight ;  but  now  I  could  distinctly 
perceive  failures  in  each  of  these. 

In  the  spring  of  1809,  my  debility  was 
such  as  rendered  it  necessary  for  me  to  take 
a  supernumerary  relation ;  and  the  following 
year  I  was  superannuated.  In  1811,  Lancas- 
ter Town  was  the  field  of  my  labour. 

In  1812,  the  General  Conference  was  held 
in  New- York.  At  that  conference,  I  was 
elected  one  of  the  book  agents.  I  continued 
in  this  office  four  years,  and  was  then  appointed 
to  Long  Island.  From  that  time,  1816, 1  con- 
tinued to  be  effective  till  1825,  so  that  I  was 
an  effective  travelling  preacher,  in  all,  forty 
years. 


238  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

REFLECTIONS. — The  moral  condition  of  the  country  when 
Methodism  was  introduced — The  adaptation  of  the  itinerancy 
to  the  condition  of  the  people — The  character  and  labours  of 
the  early  preachers,  and  the  purity  of  their  motives — Reflections 
on  our  treatment  of  the  Indians — On  our  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation— Misrepresentations  respecting  it — Mr.  Wesley's  letter 
to  Bishop  Asbury — Probable  origin  of  it — Spirit  of  revivals — 
Retrospect — Concluding  remarks. 

WHILE  the  United  States  were  yet  strug- 
gling for  independence,  an  infant  sect,  denomi- 
nated Methodists,  began  to  attract  considerable 
attention.  The  more  prominent  peculiarities 
which  distinguished  them  in  the  view  of  the 
public  were,  their  itinerancy,  and  economy  of 
ministerial  support.  While,  in  these  respects, 
others  deemed  them  singular,  in  their  own 
estimation  they  were  primitive.  There  was 
something  peculiar  also  in  their  conceptions 
of  truth,  by  which  they  were  led  to  the  itine- 
rant plan,  the  more  generally  and  effectually 
to  disseminate  it. 

When  the  independence  of  the  country 
was  achieved,  and  her  liberal  and  wholesome 
institutions  established,  there  was  nothing  in 
this  new  world,  that  is,  no  legal  impediment, 
to  hinder  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  None 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.  THOMAS    WARE.  239 

presumed  to  prescribe  to  others  what  they 
should  believe,  and  how  they  should  wor- 
ship ;  and  all  were  left  to  be  guided  by  the 
dictates  of  their  own  consciences  in  these 
matters.  In  these  respects,  all  things  were 
as  they  should  be. 

While  the  civil  institutions  of  the  country 
provided  for  the  unrestrained  dissemination 
of  evangelical  truth,  its  moral  condition  loud- 
ly called  for  it.  The  sword  of  the  Lord 
had  fallen  upon  the  idol  shepherds,  as  pre- 
dicted by  Zechariah  of  old ;  the  arm  of  pre- 
lacy was  withered,  and  her  right  eye  utterly 
darkened.  Seeing  their  power  and  influence 
gone,  many  who  occupied  the  place  of  shep- 
herds fled  and  left  their  flocks.  Then  might 
it  be  said  of  thousands  : — 

"  Lost  are  they  now,  and  scatter'd  wide, 

In  pain,  and  weariness,  and  want ; 
With  no  kind  shepherd  near  to  guide 
The  sick,  and  spiritless,  and  faint.'* 

There  was  then  a  fair  opportunity  for  those 
who  were  zealous  for  God,  to  exert  themselves 
in  seeking  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel;  and  soon  the  voices  of  scores  and 
hundreds  of  the  Methodists  were  heard  ex- 
tending to  every  quarter  of  the  new  empire, 
and  proclaiming  that  Christ,  in  whose  blood 
all  men  have  redemption,  came  into  the  world 


240  MEMOIR    OP    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

to  save  even  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  inviting 
all  to  come  unto  him  and  be  saved. 

None  but  those  who  were  eye-witnesses  of 
the  scenes  transpiring  in  those  days,  can  fully 
appreciate  the  advantages  of  the  Methodist 
itinerancy  to  our  scattered  population.  It  was 
spread  out  over  a  vast  territory  of  country, 
and  constantly  extending ;  and  in  most  places 
the  settlements  were  too  small  and  poor  to 
support  a  settled  minister.  In  many  instances, 
too,  in  the  new  countries,  they  were  without 
the  regular  forms  of  law,  bound  together  only 
by  social  intercourse  and  common  interest. 
But  none  of  these  places  were  too  small,  or  too 
poor,  or  too  remote  from  the  older  settlements, 
or  too  destitute  of  orderly  government,  to  be 
found  out  and  regularly  visited  by  the  Method- 
ist preachers.  They  went  out  into  the  high- 
ways and  hedges,  seeking  the  most  destitute 
and  needy,  and  were  successful  in  establish- 
ing the  institutions  of  the  gospel  among  them 
There  are  some  still  living  who  remember  the 
quickening,  regenerating,  and  sanctifying  in- 
fluence, which  attended  the  promulgation  of 
the  glad  tidings  of  peace  by  these  heralds  of 
the  cross.  So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  that  multitudes  both  of  men  and  women 
believed  and  were  added  to  the  church,  inso- 
much that,  in  one-half  century,  they  have 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  241 

increased  to  half  a  million.  O  that  they 
may  so  live,  that  it  may  always  be  said  of 
them,  "  This  people  have  I  formed  for  my- 
self— they  shall  show  forth  my  praise." 

With  feelings  which  cannot  be  described,  I 
recall  to  mind  those  happy  days  of  primitive 
Methodism,  when  a  young  and  growing  band 
of  Christians  and  Christian  ministers  were 
labouring  together  in  the  common  cause,  and 
united  by  feelings  of  Christian  sympathy  and 
affection  infinitely  stronger  than  the  ties  of 
blood.  A  loquacious  man  was  descanting  the 
other  day  in  my  hearing  on  the  pleasures  of 
friendship.  He  congratulated  himself  as  the 
happiest  man  in  the  world,  because,  he  said, 
he  did  not  know  that  he  had  an  enemy  on 
earth.  Well,  then,  thought  I,  does  it  follow 
that  all  men  are  our  friends,  because  we  do 
not  know  that  we  have  any  enemies  ?  Friend- 
ship is  not  so  unmeaning  a  thing.  Many  who 
know  us  may  cherish  no  enmity  against  us, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  feel  no  sympathy 
or  friendship  for  us.  If  without  their  assist- 
ance we  can  get  any  thing  good  we  may  be 
permitted  to  enjoy  it  without  incurring  their 
envy  or  malignity.  But  they  care  nothing 
about  us ;  so,  if  we  be  overtaken  with  a  storm 
of  adversity,  or  be  driven  into  the  disheartening 
regions  of  cheerless  poverty,  or  sink  under 
11 


242  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

the  gloom  of  a  hopeless  despondency,  it  is  the 
same  to  them — they  have  no  feeling  on  our 
account.  Are  these  friends?  Not  such  as 
are  ever  present  to  my  mind  while  contem- 
plating the  scenes  of  1784,  '5  and  '6, — the 
members,  and  especially  the  ministers,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  connection 
with  them  one  could  not  fail  to  appreciate  the 
truth  of  this  axiom, — "  He  who  has  friends 
can  never  be  alone  in  prosperity  or  adversity." 
The  nominal  friend,  like  the  priest  and  the 
Levite,  will  pass  by  on  the  other  side  ;  but  the 
true  friend  will  bind  up  our  wounds,  and  pour 
in  the  oil  and  the  wine. 

The  preachers  in  those  days  had  many 
things  to  suffer — many  dangers  and  toils  to 
pass  through.  Those  who  went  into  the  great 
valley  were  often  in  jeopardy  from  the  red 
men  of  the  forest,  who  saw  their  primitive 
possessions  wasting  away  before  the  white 
man's  approach,  and  were  frequently  stimu- 
lated by  a  sense  of  the  wrongs  they  were 
suffering  to  sell  their  inheritance  at  the  dear- 
est possible  rate.  Savage-like,  in  the  pa- 
roxysms of  their  fury,  they  would  wreak  their 
vengeance  alike  upon  the  innocent  and  the 
guilty  ;  and  many  hapless  families,  children 
and  all,  were  slaughtered  or  led  into  captivity 
by  them.  As  I  have  said  before,  my  own 


MEMOIR   OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  243 

path  has  been  infested  by  these  ferocious  sons 
of  the  forest,  so  that  I  narrowly  escaped;  but 
I  could  never  find  it  in  my  heart  to  acquit  the 
white  man  of  all  blame  in  this  matter  and  cast 
it  upon  the  natives.  The  history  of  their 
wrongs  and  their  sufferings  is  familiar  to  all 
intelligent  Americans ;  and  who,  knowing 
how  they  have  been  treated  from  the  begin- 
ning— in  what  manner  the  soil  which  we  cul- 
tivate in  peace  has  been  obtained  from  them — 
does  not  feel  a  wish  that  some  just  compen- 
sation may  be  rendered  to  them  ?  From  the 
readiness  which  this  interesting  people  have 
manifested  to  receive  the  gospel,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  its  saving  and  sanctifying  efficacy 
upon  them,  we  are  sustained  in  the  opinion 
that  they  might  have  been  Christianized  and 
civilized  from  the  first,  had  proper  measures 
been  pursued  toward  them.  And  how  God- 
like would  it  have  been,  had  men  come  to 
them  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  and  hearts 
glowing  with  love  and  pity;  and,  instead  of 
robbing  them  of  their  inheritance  and  exciting 
their  hostility,  taught  them  the  principles  of 
pure  Christianity,  and  baptized  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Trinity !  I  sometimes 
figure  to  myself  a  nation  of  red  men,  enjoying 
the  institutions  of  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion— educated  in  the  sciences,  and  adorned 


214  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

with  all  that  dignifies  the  noblest  work  of 
God — and  inquire,  "  Might  not  the  aborigines 
of  this  country  now  have  presented  such  a 
nation  if  they  had  been  properly  dealt  with "?" 
In  native  sagacity,  heroic  fortitude,  and  elo- 
quence, they  are  not  surpassed  by  any  people 
in  the  world.  What,  then,  could  prevent 
their  becoming  a  refined,  moral,  and  Christian 
people  ? 

With  all  we  had  to  suffer,  a  single  motive, 
to  serve  God  and  save  souls,  has  actuated  the 
body  of  Methodist  preachers  from  the  begin- 
ning ;  and,  as  I  have  before  said,  there  was 
one  who  knew  that  it  was  our  highest  ambi- 
tion to  keep  the  church  pure,  and  to  devote 
ourselves  wholly  to  the  work.  In  view  of 
this,  we  loved  the  rules  drawn  up  by  Mr. 
Wesley  for  the  preachers,  and  cordially 
adopted  them  at  the  Christmas  conference  by 
a  unanimous  vote.  These  rules  are  so  excel- 
lent in  their  composition,  and  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  the  promotion  of  sound  morality  and 
practical  piety,  that  we  may  challenge  a  com- 
parison of  them  with  any  thing  found  among 
the  different  denominations  of  Christians.  It 
is  true  that  some  of  them  are  peculiar  to  an 
itinerant  preacher ;  and  I  am  prepared  to  say, 
after  an  experience  of  nearly  half  a  century, 
that  among  all  whom  I  have  known,  those 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  245 

preachers  who  have  observed  the  rules  most 
closely  and  conscientiously  have  been  the 
most  happy  and  useful;  all  who  have  neg- 
lected or  violated  them  have  suffered  loss; 
and  some  entirely  fallen  away. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  the  mea- 
sures adopted  by  the  Church  at  its  organiza- 
tion were  perfectly  satisfactory  to  all  who 
took  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  conference 
at  which  they  were  adopted.  I  am  not  there- 
fore going  to  enter  into  a  minute  and  unqua- 
lified defence  of  all  that  was  done  on  that 
occasion.  But  the  motives  which  influenced 
the  ministry  to  retain  the  modifications  and 
conduct  of  the  itinerancy  in  their  own  hands 
were  pure  ;  and  I  may  offer  a  few  remarks 
respecting  them. 

We  were  itinerants ;  and  he  whose  servants 
we  were  knoweth  that  we  were  influenced  by 
a  desire  to  spread  scriptural  holiness  through 
the  land,  and  to  preserve  the  ministry  and 
membership  pure  from  error  and  sin.  The 
plan  of  a  general  superintendency  had  not 
only  been  submitted  to,  but  was  universally 
approved  by  both  preachers  and  people. 
The  system  was  simple  and  familiar  to  us  all. 
Every  thing  went  on  as  it  had  before  our  or- 
ganization, with  this  advantage,  that  in  our 
church  capacity  the  delightful  privilege  was 


246  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

furnished  us  of  bringing  our  children  to  be 
dedicated  in  baptism  at  our  own  altars,  and 
of  receiving  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  sup- 
per at  the  hand  of  our  own  ministers.  Ordi- 
nation was  the  only  thing  we  had  seemed  to 
lack  ;  and  this  lack  was  now  supplied. 

That  our  ecclesiastical  polity  and  discipline 
were  not  formed  on  the  model  of  our  civil 
institutions,  or  that  of  other  churches,  we  well 
knew;  but  we  did  believe,  and  so  did  our 
people,  that  it  was  expedient  to  form  them  as 
we  did,  in  order  to  keep  the  itinerant  system 
in  operation.  And  as  this  was  a  paramount 
object,  it  was  wisdom  to  conform  the  general 
organization  in  a  way  to'  accomplish  it.  In 
this,  also,  we  followed  what  we  thought  to  be 
the  plain  view  taken  of  the  whole  subject  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  the  father  of  the  Methodist 
family,  and  the  founder  of  the  itinerancy. 
We  did  not  deny  the  right  to  any  people  to 
choose  their  pastors,  or  to  have  lay  represent- 
atives in  their  ecclesiastical  councils  if  they 
saw  proper.  But  it  was  evident  to  us,  that  if 
our  societies  should  demand  this  they  would 
assume  a  fearful  responsibility,  as  it  must 
subvert  the  itinerancy  at  the  foundation,  and 
overthrow  the  whole  system.  But  this  they 
had  no  disposition  to  do,  and  they  understood 
the  effect  of  such  a  course,  and  prized  the 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  247 

plan  for  its  intrinsic  excellency  and  efficient 
operation  too  much  to  wish  any  thing  done  to 
injure  it.  Moreover  we  knew,  and  our  people 
knew,  that  we  were  wholly  dependent  ou 
them  for  our  support;  and  that  they  could 
wield  this  check  over  us  at  any  time  they 
might  deem  it  necessary.  Such  was  t^ie  talk 
among  ourselves  and  among  the  most  intelli- 
gent of  our  people  at  the  time.  We  assumed 
nothing,  made  no  new  terms  of  communion, 
(except  one  relating  to  slavery  which  we  could 
never  enforce,  and  were  obliged  to  rescind,) 
and  so  far  were  we  from  discarding  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  we  said,  during  his  life  we  would 
be  subject  to  him  as  his  sons  in  the  gospel, 
and,  in  matters  belonging  to  church  govern- 
ment, obey  his  instructions.  In  this  we  un- 
doubtedly went  too  far.  But  it  was  from  the 
best  of  motives.  We  loved  Mr.  Wesley,  and 
as  far  as  it  was  consistent  to  be  subject  to 
any  individual  under  similar  circumstances, 
we  delighted  to  serve  him.  But  he  was  a 
man,  and  was  several  thousand  miles  from 
us ;  and  he  might  become  prejudiced  against 
us  by  misinformation  or  otherwise,  and  direct 
what,  if  he  knew  us  better,  he  would  not. 
Still  in  the  ardour  of  our  love  and  zeal  wo 
did  not  enter  extensively  into  such  reflections. 
Had  I  been  told  at  the  Christmas  confer- 


248  MEMOIR   OF   REV.    THOMAS   WARE. 

ence,  that  before  I  should  go  hence  men 
would  rise  up  among  us,  calling  themselves 
Methodists,  who  would  endeavour  to  make 
the  world  believe  such  things  as  I  have  seen 
put  forth  to  the  public  and  dogmatically  as- 
serted as  truth,  I  would  have  replied,  "  No,  it 
cannot  be  ;  none  can  ever  be  found  to  cogitate, 
or  even  retail,  so  foul  a  slander !"  But  I  have 
learned  how  easy  it  is  to  place  too  much  con- 
fidence in  men. 

These  allegations  have  been  amply  refuted 
by  Dr.  Emory,  in  his  work  entitled  "  Defence 
of  our  Fathers,"  so  that  it  would  seem  need 
less  to  say  any  thing  bearing  on  that  subject ; 
yet,  having  had  a  long  and  intimate  know 
ledge  of  Messrs.  Asbury  and  Coke,  an  old 
friend  who  made  a  considerable  journey  to 
see  me  and  converse  with  me  respecting 
those  times,  has  satisfied  me  that  I  ought  to 
state  what  I  know  in  reference  to  these  mat- 
ters of  which  so  much  has  been  said.  "  Were 
you  not,"  inquired  my  friend,  "  a  member  of 
the  Christmas  conference  T  I  replied  that  I 
was.  "How  did  it  happen  then,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  that  you  suffered  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr. 
Asbury  to  introduce  into  your  Discipline 
statements  which  were  false  in  themselves? 
They  could  not  have  done  it,"  continued  he, 
"  without  your  knowledge."  After  thus  intro- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  249 

during  the  subject,  he  proceeded  to  say,  that 
there  were  a  number  in  his  vicinity  who  were 
publishing  such  statements  respecting  those 
men,  and  their  conduct  in  regard  to  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Church.  "  There  is  one," 
said  he,  "  who  has  long  been  a  local  preacher, 
that  publicly  affirms  these  things,  and  says 
that  Asbury  did  more  harm  to*the  Americans 
by  introducing  Episcopacy  than  was  ever 
dono  by  that  arch  infidel,  Tom  Paine."  He 
further  remarked  that  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  industriously  circulating  these  statements 
through  the  press,  in  pamphlet  form,  and 
otherwise,  without  taking  any  notice  of  the 
refutations  they  had  received ;  and  that, 
knowing  I  was  acquainted  with  the  events  of 
those  days,  he  had  an  earnest  desire  to  see 
me,  and  hear  what  I  had  to  say  with  respect 
to  these  things. 

I  perceived  from  what  my  friend  said  that 
the  insinuations  which  had  been  made,  that 
Mr.  Wesley  was  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Asbury, 
and  soured  against  him,  on  account  of  his 
taking  the  name  of  bishop,  and  therefore  re- 
buked him  as  acting  contrary  to  what  he 
intended,  had  made  some  unfavourable  im- 
pressions on  the  minds  of  sincere  and  well 
meaning  persons ;  and  this  fact,  among  others, 
induced  me  to  comply  with  his  request. 


250  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

Of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbuiy  I  can 
say,  I  believe,  from  my  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  them,  that  they  were  as  pure  in 
morals  and  motives  as  Mr.  Wesley  himself — 
they  were  incapable  of  the  acts  ascribed  to 
them.  They  were,  indeed,  men,  and  as  men 
liable  to  err.  But  that  they  aspired  to  obtain 
power  with  wkich  it  was  not  the  will  of  Mr. 
Wesley  and  the  conference  to  invest  them,  is 
an  imputation  which  no  one  as  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  them  as  I  was,  could  believe 
for  a  moment.  Nor  was  the  Christmas  con- 
ference composed  of  a  class  of  men  to  be  so 
easily  imposed  upon.  They  understood  the 
subject  in  all  its  bearings  ;  and  no  considera- 
tion would  have  induced  them,  at  that  junc- 
ture, to  barter  away  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges, especially  in  a  manner  contrary  to 
what  they  understood  to  be  the  views  and 
instructions  of  Mr.  Wesley. 

That  Mr.  Asbury  did  receive  a  letter  con 
taining  the  language  of  rebuke  from  the  man 
whom  he  delighted  to  serve  and  honour,  I 
knew  soon  after  he  received  it ;  and  I  knew 
also  to  whom  he  ascribed  the  work  of  sour- 
ing the  mind  of  his  father  and  friend  against 
him.  He  afterward  informed  me  that  he  had 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wesley,  in  which 
he  said,  "  I  am  nevertheless  glad  that  you 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  251 

remained  in  America,  and  rejoice  that  the 
Lord  has  opened  so  wide  a  door  before  you." 
Mr.  Asbury  did  not  name  the  man  who,  he 
thought,  had  done  him  the  unkindness  of  en- 
deavouring to  disafFect  Mr.  Wesley's  mind 
toward  him.  But  I  thought  I  knew  to  whom 
he  alluded.  He  was  an  elder  brother,  a  chief 
man  among  the  preachers  while  in  this  country, 
and  a  high-toned  loyalist.  After  the  declara- 
tion of  independence,  he  deemed  it  his  duty 
and  that  of  all  the  preachers  sent  by  Mr. 
Wesley  to  America,  to  return  home.  Not 
being  able  to  prevail  on  Mr.  Asbury  to  accom- 
pany him,  he  forsook  his  charge,  and  went 
over  within  the  British  lines,  they  being  then 
in  possession  of  Philadelphia  ;  and  there  he 
declared  from  the  pulpit  that  he  did  not  be- 
lieve God  would  revive  his  work  in  America, 
until  the  people  submitted  to  their  rightful 
sovereign,  the  king  of  England ;  and  he  ex- 
pressed himself,  in  similar  terms  to  Mr.  As- 
bury in  a  letter.  In  reply,  Mr.  Asbury  said, 
he  was  so  strongly  knit  in  affection  to  many 
of  the  Americans  that  he  could  not  tear  him- 
self away  from  them ;  that  he  knew  the 
Americans,  and  was  well  satisfied  they  would 
not  rest  until  they  had  achieved  their  inde- 
pendence ;  and  plainly  intimated  that  he  be- 
lieved they  would  become  a  free  and  inde- 


252  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

pendent  nation,  and  that  there  was  a  great 
work  to  be  accomplished  in  this  country,  under 
the  direction  of  Divine  Providence,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Methodist  preaching. 
The  letter  from  Mr.  Asbury  containing  these 
remarks  providentially  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  American  officers,  and  was  the  unpremedi- 
tated cause  of  changing  their  views  and  feel- 
ing respecting  him,  so  that  he  was  afterward 
treated  with  more  favour  than  he  had  been 
before.  Of  this  -fact  I  was  informed  by  a 
man  who  was  afterward  governor  of  the  state 
of  Delaware. 

The  preacher  to  whom  Mr.  Asbury  attri- 
buted the  agency  of  endeavouring  to  disarfect 
Mr.  Wesley's  mind  toward  him  had,  from  the 
first,  suspected  him  of  being  favourable  to  the 
cause  of  the  Americans ;  and  when  he  be- 
came fully  satisfied  of  it,  he  manifested  strong 
opposition  of  feeling  against  him.  And,  be- 
sides this,  Mr.  Asbury  had  offended  him  in 
debate  in  conference  on  the  spirit  of  the  Ame- 
ricans. This  was  a  delicate  subject  to  be 
discussed  at  that  time,  as  there  were  some 
preachers  as  warm  on  the  side  of  freedom 
as  this  elder  brother  was  against  it.  In  his 
remarks  he  said,  he  had  been  at  the  south, 
and  was  alarmed  at  the  noise — the  wild  enthu- 
siasm— which  he  had  witnessed  in  the  south- 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  253 

ern  states  ;  that  a  stop  must  absolutely  be  put 
to  the  prevailing  wild-fire,  or  it  would  prove 
ruinous  to  all  we  held  sacred ;  and  that  he 
had  done  all  he  could  to  suppress  it,  but  was 
ashamed  to  say  that  some  of  his  brethren, 
the  preachers,  were  infected  with  it.  In 
this,  he  alluded  to  the  peculiar  character  of 
some  of  the  great  revivals  then  going  on  at 
the  south.  Mr.  Asbury  became  alarmed  at 
these  imprudent  remarks,  and  interposed  to 
put  a  stop  to  them  in  a  way  which  was  alike 
gratifying  to  the  preachers  generally,  and 
mortifying  to  the  person  concerned.  He  evi- 
dently returned  to  England  with  no  very  kind 
disposition  toward  Mr.  Asbury  ;  and  with  such 
feelings  as  he  cherished  would  not  be  likely 
to  make  a  very  favourable  representation  of 
him  to  Mr.  Wesley.  This  was  probably  the 
source  of  the  letter  which  has  been  used  in  so 
exceptionable  a  manner,  since  the  death  of 
both  these  holy  men,  between  whom  malignity 
itself  could  not  effect  a  permanent  breach, 
however  it  might  for  a  season  weaken  confi- 
dence, and  produce  an  unwonted  jealousy. 

On  the  subject  of  the  spirit  which  attended 
the  revivals  then  in  progress,  Mr.  Asbury 
used  to  say,  "  The  friends  of  order  may  allow 
a  guilty  mortal  to  tremble  at  God's  word,  for 
to  such  the  Lord  will  look  ; — and  the  saints 


254         ,         MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS  WARE. 

to  cry  out  and  shout,  when  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  is  in  the  midst  of  them.  To  be  hasty 
in  plucking  up  the  tares,  is  to  endanger  the 
wheat.  Of  this  we  should  be  aware,  lest  we 
touch  the  ark  to  our  own  injury  and  that  of 
others." 

Much  was  said  in  those  days  on  the  subject 
of  order,  especially  by  professors  in  other 
churches.  On  this  subject  they  erred  by  mis- 
taking the  order  of  man  for  the  order  of  God. 
God  has  his  own  way  in  carrying  on  his  mar- 
vellous works  in  the  earth ;  and  they  who 
would  serve  him  in  simplicity,  must  mark  that 
way,  and  not  fight  against  him. 

I  once  knew  a  pious  female,  a  member  of  a 
church,  remarkable  for  her  good  sense  and 
propriety  of  conduct,  who  was  constrained, 
under  a  pathetic  address  of  her  minister,  to 
cry  out  and  shout  aloud.  The  effect  was 
thrilling.  Numbers  in  the  congregation  trem- 
bled and  wept.  The  minister,  however,  sharply 
rebuked  her,  and  told  her  to  be  silent,  or  to 
leave  the  house.  She  chose  the  latter,  and 
immediately  retired  to  a  grove,  where,  with- 
out rebuke"  or  interruption,  she  could  give 
vent  to  the  swelting  emotions  of  her  pious 
heart.  Had  the  minister  continued  his  ad- 
dress instead  of  checking  the  impulse  of  feel- 
ing uttered  by  this  devoted  Christian,  and 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  255 

called  upon  those  who  were  weeping  and 
trembling1,  to  humble  themselves  before  God, 
and  seek  his  mercy,  and  the  picas  part  of  the 
congregation  to  unite  in  prayer  for  them,  he 
would  no  doubt  have  had  a  great  and  glori- 
ous revival  of  religion,  and  many  souls  would 
have  been  rescued  from  the  thraldom  of  sin. 
But  setting  his  face  against  the  first  manifest- 
ations of  God's  special  presence  among  the 
people,  the  serious  impressions  which  some 
had  soon  died  away  ;  and  the  good  woman 
who  would  have  been  a  valuable  helper  to 
him  if  the  revival  had  gone  on,  was  set  down 
as  an  enthusiast.  Thus  was  she  restrained 
while  she  continued  in  connection  with  that 
church.  In  process  of  time,  however,  she 
removed  to  another  place,  where  she  opened 
her  doors  for  Methodist  preaching,  and  was 
the  first  to  join  class  when  an  opportunity  was 
offered.  After  this,  she  lived  long  as  a  nurs- 
ing mother  in  our  Zion,  greatly  beloved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  her. 

From  the  diary  of  this  excellent  person  I 
took,  by  permission,  the  following  extracts, 
relating  to  the  grove  in  which  she  retired  for 
devotion : — 

"  The  grove  to  which  I  fled  from  the  re- 
buke of  my  minister,  for  disturbing  what  he 
called  the  order  of  God,  where  nevertheless 


256  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

the  presence  of  my  God,  which  attended  me, 
shone  so  bright  that  its  foliage  seemed  tinged 
with  his  glory,  was  long  my  favourite  retreat. 
Here  were  lofty  trees,  whose  cooling  umbrage, 
in  the  sultry  season,  I  often  enjoyed,  and 
whose  towering  leafless  heads  I  have  seen  in 
winter  wave  to  Him  who  bid  them  be,  and  I 
ardently  desired  to  be  as  pure  from  sin  as  they. 
"  The  last  time  I  visited  this  delightful  re- 
cess, on  the  one  side  a  marshy  swamp  through 
which  no  one  could  pass,  and  on  the  other  an 
open  wood  through  which  none  could  ap- 
proach unseen,  (for  I  wished  to  be  unseen  by 
all  but  Heaven,)  I  renewed  my  covenant  with 
God,  and  received  a  delightful  assurance  that 
he  would  go  with  me  in  the  way  I  was  about 
to  go  ; — and,  retiring,  I  cast  back  on  this  rural 
temple  a  last  and  lingering  look,  and,  sighing, 
said,  *  Adieu !  adieu,  ye  trembling  aspens,  em- 
blems of  myself,  ye  tremble  without  fear, 
corroding  fear !  Adieu,  ye  towering  poplars, 
oaks,  and  elms !  ye  sweet  magnolias,  and 
ye  mantling  vines,  adieu !  Beneath  your  am- 
ple shade  I've  sat,  I've  knelt,  I've  sung,  and 
shouted  out,  Amen !  without  rebuke,  and 
made  you  witnesses  of  my  solemn  vows  to 
Him  whose  sacred  hands  were  fastened  to 
a  tree,  and  whose  blood  I  hold  to  be  the 
source,  the  price,  the  sum,  of  all  my  hopes, 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  257 

for  time  and  for  eternal  ages.  Hallelujah! 
the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth !' ': 

In  1832, 1  attended  the  General  Conference 
in  Philadelphia.  After  it  closed,  I  made  the 
following  communication  to  the  Christian  Ad- 
vocate and  Journal,  which  was  published  in 
its  columns : — 

On  the  first  day  of  May  last,  I  took  my 
seat  in  the  General  Conference  with  senti- 
ments and  sensibilities  that  would  have  made 
me  happy  in  a  desert  or  a  dungeon.  With  a 
palpitating  heart,  I  surveyed  the  representa- 
tives of  more  than  half  a  million  of  Method- 
ists, bound  together  by  ties  more  sacred  than 
the  ties  of  blood  ;  but  among  all  these  there 
was  not  one  of  that  band  of  brothers  who 
originally  constituted  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church — no  not  one !  all  had  been  shrouded  in 
the  grave  or  in  the  shade  before  my  name 
was  transferred  to  the  superannuated  list. 

All  to  whom  I  was  personally  known,  ex- 
cept a  few  old  men,  on  shaking  me  by  the 
hand,  called  me  father.  And  if  I  may  be  allow- 
ed to  take  that  appellation,  where  is  the  man 
since  the  flood  who  has  lived  to  see  so  nume- 
rous a  family  grow  up  around  him  ?  Did  I 
hear  one  say,  that  would  be  arrogance, 
indeed,  to  number  among  thy  sons  the  Me- 
thodist sanhedrim,  with  the  venerable  M'Ken- 


258  MEMOIR    UF   REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

dree  at  their  head,  whose  discriminating  and 
descriptive  powers,  though  trembling  on  his 
staff,  still  charm  his  listening  auditors — with 
his  coadjutors,  whose  well-earned  fame  in  the 
Church  is  all  abroad?  That  be  far  from  thee. 

And  wras  it  never  known  that  sons  sur- 
passed their  sires?  But  I  am  not  afraid.  No 
one  will  deem  it  arrogance  in  me  to  say,  of 
all  this  goodly  group  in  the  itinerant  ranks,  I 
am  the  first ;  that  is  to  say,  I  am  one  of  those 
who  went  before  to  smooth  the  rugged  way 
for  those  who  came  to  rear  the  tender  plant, 
whose  seed  had  been  deposited  by  their  fore- 
runners, and  to  reap  the  field  made  ready  to 
their  hands. 

When  the  conference  closed  its  session, 
I  said  to  myself,  This  has  been  to  me  the  most 
interesting  General  Conference  I  have  attend- 
ed, except  the  first.  I  could  not  help  being 
gratified  that  the  ratio  of  delegates  had  not 
been  reduced,  for  I  did  not  doubt  but  that  the 
coming  together  of  such  a  body  of  ministers, 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  would 
be  for  the  glory  of  God.  They  were  men, 
and,  of  course,  not  without  defects ;  but  such 
a  body  of  men,  so  talented  and  so  richly  im  • 
bued  with  missionary  zeal,  have,  in  my  esti- 
mation, seldom  been  together. 

Our  number,  it  is  true,  was  rather  large 


MEMofR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  259 

for  the  despatch  of  business.  All  was  not 
done  that  I  wished,  but  I  have  lived  to  believe 
it  were  better  to  do  too  little  than  too  much. 
Our  sky  was  generally  clear.  True,  some 
clouds  did  arise,  and  slight  electric  shocks 
were  felt,  causing  some  painful  solicitude, 
which  soon  subsided — for  our  excellent  presi- 
dents, who  lived  in  the  entire  confidence  and 
esteem  of  their  brethren,  to  whom  they  were 
personally  known,  could  easily  allay  the 
rising  storm.  The  men  over  whom  they  pre- 
sided well  understood  the  nature,  the  necessi- 
ty, and  the  desirableness  of  Christian  amity. 
They  had  been  in  the  habit  of  telling  their 
auditors  that  unity  among  brethren  was  more 
beautiful  than  the  morning,  sweeter  than  the 
breath  of  spring,  and  richer  than  the  Peruvian 
mines  ;  and  when  admonished,  you  are  now, 
brethren,  beginning  to  feel  and  act  unworthy 
of  yourselves,  they  stood  reproved,  and  the 
gust  of  feeling,  which,  had  it  been  indulged, 
would  have  distorted  the  face,  racked  the 
breast,  and  alarmed  the  spectators,  soon  died 
away,  and  there  was  a  great  calm :  "  Blessed 
are  the  peace-makers,  for  they  shall  be  called 
the  children  of  God."  Several  things  conspired 
to  render  this  meeting  agreeable  to  me.  My 
health  was  better  than  it  had  been  for  years, 
insomuch  that  I  felt  no  distressing  lassitude, 


260  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

though  generally  at  my  post  in  the  con- 
ference, in  committee,  and  at  preaching.  I 
heard  with  pleasure  many  whose  voices  I 
shall  never  hear  again  in  time,  and  said,  in  my 
heart,  "The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us." 

I  have  often  heard  it  said,  Past  time  seems 
short,  just  like  a  well-told  tale,  or  like  a  dream 
when  one  awakes.  Not  so  to  rne.  To  me 
past  time  seems  long,  and  so  I  sometimes 
think  it  must,  in  fact,  appear  to  others.  Many 
of  my  brethren  seemed  pleased  to  see  among 
them  one  who  had  a  voice  in  the  organization 
of  the  Church  in  1784,  not  without  some 

'  * 

surprise  that  I  should  have  breasted  the 
storms  of  life  for  so  long  a  time,  and  was  still 
able  to  take  a  seat  among  them.  Did  not 
past  time  to  these,  at  least,  seem  long? 

I  was  gratified,  not  flattered,  I  think,  to 
find  my  few  sketches  of  our  early  history  had 
given  pleasure  to  many.  After  I  became  an 
itinerant,  had  I  carefully  attended  to  the  rules 
of  a  preacher  in  our  excellent  form  of  Disci- 
pline, "  Be  diligent ;  never  be  unemployed  ; 
never  while  away  time  ;  neither  spend  any 
more  time  at  any  place  than  is  strictly  neces- 
sary." Had  I  done  this,  there  would  have 
been  no  want  of  knowledge  in  my  ministerial 
career.  The  harmony  of  the  past  and  pre- 
sent had  never  been  lost,  and,  instead  of  a 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  261 

sketch,  I  might  have  given  at  least  a  complete 
portraiture  of  Methodism  up  to  the  present 
day.  Moreover,  such  is  our  predilection  for 
the  past,  as  to  render  precious  every  fragment 
that  portrays  some  characteristic  feature,  espe- 
cially of  the  venerable  dead  whom  we  have 
known  and  loved ;  nor  of  these  alone,  but  of 
all  who  have  deserved  well  of  their  fellow- 
men.  Let  those  who  read,  and  especially  my 
young  itinerant  brethren,  understand  and  act 
accordingly.  Much  may  be  gained  by  think- 
ing with  the  pen,  but  let  them  not  be  content 
with  a  general  knowledge  of  the  language  in 
which  they  think,  but  study  its  minutiae  before 
the  frost  of  age  forbids  a  genial  growth. 

The  General  Conference  manifested  an 
undeviating  attachment  to  the  plan  of  general 
superintendency,  and  were,  I  think,  happy  in 
the  choice  they  made  of  two  additional  su- 
perintendents. It  is  now  ended,  and  my 
brethren  have  gone  to  the  four  quarters  of  our 
widely  extended  work,  and  my  love,  my 
prayers,  and  my  ardent  wishes  have  gone 
with  them.  God  is  love,  and  as  he  is,  so  are 
we  in  this  world.  He,  it  is  true,  is  an  unbe- 
ginning,  never  ceasing,  and  a  for  ever  over- 
flowing ocean ;  in  this  respect,  we  are  not 
like  him ;  but  if  there  is  a  drop  of  this  bound- 
less ocean  in  our  hearts,  it  flows  out  in  a 


262  MEMOIR    OF    REV.   THOMAS    WARE. 

thousand  channels,  pursuing  its  object  o\  ,r 
lands  and  floods,  without  the  least  diminution 
of  the  original  drop.  Some  variation  in  minor 
things  we  have  known,  but  love  has  predomi- 
nated, has  so  softened  and  mixed  the  shades 
that,  when  we  parted,  as  when  we  met,  all 
was  peace  and  good  will.  To  God  be  all  the 
glory.  Such  were  my  reflections  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  General  Conference  in  1832. 

I  am  now  approaching  toward  the  close  of 
my  earthly  pilgrimage;  and  I  may  presume 
to  say,  that  there  are  few  of  my  fellow-Chris- 
tians who  are  more  deeply  affected  with  the 
signs  of  the  times  than  I  am.  The  zeal  mani- 
fested for  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel 
throughout  the  world,  and  the  enterprises  set 
on  foot  for  the  promotion  of  experimental 
godliness,  I  firmly  believed  more  than  half  a 
century  ago  would  characterize  this  age, 
though  I  might  not  live  to  see  it.  Before  I 
knew  the  Methodists,  I  had  heard  that  they 
claimed  to  be  raised  up  of  God  to  spread 
scriptural  holiness  through  the  land ;  and  this 
claim  had  been  denounced  as  monstrous  arro- 
gance.  But  the  first  time  I  attended  their 
preaching,  and  listened  with  interest  to  it,  the 
effect  it  produced  upon  my  mind  and  that 
of  others,  satisfied  me  that  God  was  with 
them,  and  would  render  them  instrumental 


MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE.  263 

in  stirring  up  such  a  spirit  as  we  witness  at 
this  day. 

In  this  my  expectations  have  been  realiz- 
ed. It  has  pleased  God  to  permit  me  to  live 
to  see  it,  and  to  mark  its  progress,  which 
affords  me  more  satisfaction  in  my  decline 
of  life,  than  all  the  wealth  or  honours  of  the 
world  could  do.  Methodism  has  been  from 
the  beginning  a  peculiarly  missionary  system. 
The  operations  of  the  day  I  regard  as  only 
an  extension  of  this  system,  varied  and 
modified  to  meet  the  openings  of  Providence 
for  the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel 
throughout  the  world.  May  God  hasten  the 
day  when  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the 
knowledge  of  his  glory,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea. 

For  many  years  that  are  past,  I  have  sighed 
and  said,  "  I  alone  am  left  of  all  my  father's 
house."  A  short  time  since,  I  made  a  visit  to 
the  place  where  I  was  born.  I  found  one 
only  of  my  early  companious,  and  he  was 
trembling  on  his  staff.  At  first  he  did  not 
know  me,  though  we  were  particular  friends. 
And  where  are  those  who,  in  1783,  filled  the 
itinerant  ranks  ?  Are  any  of  them  left  ? 
Not  one.  All  of  them  were  in  their  graves, 
or  in  the  shade,  before  I  retired.  Yet  a  little 
while  and  I  shall  go  the  way  of  all  flesh. 


264  MEMOIR    OF    REV.    THOMAS    WARE. 

And  what,   the   reader  may  inquire,  is   my 
hope  for  the  future  ? 

For  this  life  I  have  little  to  excite  my  hope. 
I  cannot  expect  to  be  released  from  putting 
my  feeble  powers  in  requisition  to  supply  my 
daily  wants.  I  do  hope,  however,  to  be  sus- 
tained, let  the  remnant  of  life's  current  flow 
as  it  may.  But  of  future  bliss  in  heaven,  I 
have  a  strong  and  well-grounded  expectation. 
Whatever  claims  I  may  suppose  myself  to 
have  upon  the  justice  of  my  fellow-men,  for 
whose  salvation  I  have  ^ardently  laboured,  I 
have  none  on  God,  except  through  him  "who 
was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." 
Through  his  merits  and  mercies,  I  have  a 
well-grounded  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality 
beyond  this  vale  of  tears. 


THE    END. 


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